The potential of social farming for rural communities was highlighted by agriculture minister Charlie McConalogue at an open day in Donegal recently when he said that behind every farm gate is a whole new world which can be opened up to benefit communities.
Over 150 people attended the open day which was held on the Harley farm on the outskirts of Letterkenny. Patrick Harley hosts participants from the local Health Service Executive (HSE) mental health services in Letterkenny every week.
Minister McConalogue said he was excited to see the interest in social farming and hear about the great benefits and potential it has for rural communities.
He expressed thanks to the host farmers for the great gift they give people through social farming. Hearing the lived experience of participants is so important, he said.
Social farming in Donegal
The agriculture minister pledged that he would work with his ministerial colleagues on the mainstreaming and further development of the social farming potential in Ireland.
“Social farming involves using ordinary working farms to provide social, educational, and therapeutic activities for individuals who may benefit from the farm’s setting and activities,” Helen Doherty, Social Farming Ireland co-ordinator, Leitrim Development Company explained.
“It offers a range of benefits, such as improved health and wellbeing, skill development, and social connection opportunities.”
Patrick Harley became involved in social farming while the country was still in the throes of the pandemic, attending training provided by Social Farming Ireland in 2021, some of which was delivered in farm sheds.
Patrick said he has found the social farming experience truly rewarding for himself and his family, and the participants gave positive feedback on their time on the farm also.
A farm walk as part of the open day illustrated what is offered to participants.
As well as the usual farm maintenance activities on the Harley farm, there is the care of the sheep and the Dexter cattle, and the maintenance of forestry and hedgerows on the farm, making for an interesting variety of jobs.
Renewable energy is also central to the running of the Harley farm where willow is grown, harvested and dried on-site for use as wood chips to heat the family home.
“Their pride in the farm was evident on the day with a large crowd being hosted by many members of the Harley family and plenty of home-cooked treats on offer for the visitors,” Helen continued.
“Patrick highlighted the fun that happens particularly around the kitchen table and how important the ‘social’ is in social farming,” Helen said.
The open day attendance heard from a number of participants and those supporting them. Veronica Carlin captured everyone’s attention when she spoke about the difference coming to the farm had made in her life.
She encouraged others to just take the first step in unleashing their potential.
“Just try it and it’s the right direction. Wednesday night, I think, yeah, I’m going farming tomorrow,” she quipped. Her comments were met with a spontaneous cheer and loud round of applause.
Veronica was supported by occupational therapist, Louise McGettigan from Mental Health Services who said she would like to see social farming embedded in their service.
She identified the social connection that we in Ireland are so good at, as being a key benefit for those she supports. It is one that Irish society values highly although it is more challenging in the disconnect of modern society, she said.
Dylan Laverty from Donegal Horizons spoke on behalf of the participants he supported. He said he saw their confidence grow through the social farming placement, one participant so much so that he no longer attends their service and has gained employment.
Sadie Kelly who works with the school completion programme in Donegal with students from Bellanamore School outlined how school programmes get involved in social farming.
“The standard school programme does not suit everyone so social farming provides a unique opportunity for young people to learn about a working farm and do activities without teacher supervision to gain independence and improve skills in a supportive environment,” Sadie said.
“The farmer continues to reinforce the importance of their education.”
Sadie used the well known phrase ‘show me and I will learn’ to describe the importance of social farming for these young people.
The mayor of Letterkenny, Donal Mandy Kelly, spoke about how pleased Donegal County Council was to support social farming through the Disability Participation and Awareness fund from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
Having experienced farm life himself he said he can truly appreciate the potential of social farming for so many people.
Helen Doherty said that the evidence is there, and was reinforced at the open day, of the mental, physical social and educational benefits of spending a day on a busy family farm.
“A big part of the day is just sitting down and having a cup of tea and a chat with new people, making that connection. That social connection is hugely important and it gives those people taking part an opportunity to make new friends and to expand their social circle,” she said.
“At the same time, the mental health benefits include confidence building and growth in self-esteem. There are lots of different activities you can do on a farm so these visits are engaging and also very importantly a lot of fun,” she added.
“Another area of significant benefit is obviously from a physical health point of view. Farming is a very physical job but that physical activity has many other benefits such as improved sleep patterns, reduced anxiety or improved fitness by getting exercise without being labelled as exercise.
“An opportunity to gain knowledge and skills is evident from simply learning about where our food comes from, growing food, and all the health benefits associated with that to potentially learning new skills through, e.g., building a bird box or a henhouse,” Helen said.
Farm participants
Social Farming Ireland is keen to hear from any farmers interested in hosting participants, with all training mentoring and support provided by the organisation.
“We have some areas in which we particularly need new farms such as the Finn Valley area in Donegal, Longford, Monaghan, Louth and Clare and the peri-urban areas around Dublin, stretching into Louth, Meath and Kildare as well as Wicklow, Galway and Cork,” Helen said.
More information is on Social Farming Ireland’s website.