“Our children have grown up in the river, like so many children do”

Slaney catchment dairy farmers Alan and Cheryl Poole say the River Bann that flows through their 103 acre holding near Gorey in Wexford is an invaluable asset the family has appreciated, protected and enjoyed for generations.

The Poole family have farmed there since the early 1700s. Alan remembers watching salmon spawn in the river when he was a child. Today, it’s somewhere they retreat to with their own children, Jacob (17), Isabelle (13) and Danny (10), particularly during the summer months when the children are home from school.

And while they farm sustainably, have invested heavily in slurry storage and improved their farm infrastructure, they look forward to learning even more about protecting the watercourse as part the recently-launched ‘Farming for Water: River Slaney Project’ which is now underway.

Partnership Model

The partnership project is spearheaded by Tirlán, in collaboration with key stakeholders including Teagasc, professional services firm ifac, Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), County Councils and the wider community. Tirlán has appointed an advisory team to work with farm family suppliers in the catchment and support their efforts to farm more sustainably and protect the Nitrates Derogation.

“Growing up here has given Alan a huge interest in the ecosystem,” Cheryl said. “Our core ethos on our family farm is to protect, maintain and develop our biodiversity and that includes the river.

“Our children have grown up in the river, like so many children do. They have made swings over the river, have built dams on the river. We spent so much time at the river during the lockdowns. It was bliss.

“This river is so important to our family. Our son, Jacob, has a severe intellectual disability and is physically disabled. The river is his happy place. He took his first steps here. The other two children have grown up in the river, like so many children do. They have made swings over the river, have built dams on the river. We spent so much time at the river during the lockdowns. It was bliss.

“We have run bat surveys on the river for the past 20 years and in the past few years, the children have become involved in that too. Isabelle was out with Alan doing a bat survey on a summer evening two years ago when an otter came out of the river, walked past them and went back into the river. This all happened 100 yards from their own bedroom windows. This river is just a phenomenal resource for us as a family.”

World Bee Day

The Poole family has been congratulated for their work to boost biodiversity on World Bee Day with Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Senator Pippa Hackett, congratulating the Pooles’ for the work they have done as part of the Pilot National Pollinator Monitoring Scheme.

“The Poole family farm is the perfect place for the Department to celebrate World Bee Day 2024. The whole family are involved at the beautiful farm and it is really bustling with life and biodiversity. The passion and energy of the children’s involvement is clear,” she said.

Solutions that work

The River Bann is one of a number of rivers that flows into the Slaney that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found to be high in nitrates. It spurred Tirlán to take action with its partners, to work with its dairy, grain and drystock farmers and find solutions that work.

“We’re very conscious of dirty water and slurry on our farm,” Alan Poole said. “We’ve invested heavily in our farm in recent years and all of our yards are roofed. All the clean water can go straight to the drains. We’ve plenty of storage for dirty water and slurry, quite a lot more than we are required to have.”

Both Alan and Cheryl have Science PhDs but said with legislation changing at such a pace, there is always more to learn. “We’ve always been very conscious of our responsibility when living right beside the river.

A very positive step

“Everyone has to take their own responsibility and for us, our section of the river and the land draining into it is our responsibility, so we’re doing our very best to protect it,” Cheryl continued. “We’re very excited to be part of Farming for Water: River Slaney Project. It’s a very positive step, the partnership approach will work well.

“We are the experts on our farm. But Tirlán and the support group they have put together have the knowledge about the latest legislation, the newest scientific thoughts and solutions. We do the best we can. But if we know how to do things even better, we will do that.

“There will be tweaks that we can make, things we can change. It’s a great partnership and we look forward to the back and forth. Sometimes you don’t see things that are right in front of your eyes like maybe a broken drain. That extra set of eyes, that extra support is so vitally important, particularly if we can keep our derogation.

“For us, it’s more than retaining the derogation. It’s about nature. It’s about biodiversity. It’s about our ecosystem. It’s about protecting our country as well as our countryside.”

Both Alan and Cheryl work full-time on farm. They do not have an off-farm income. “Water is such a resource. We all just need to play our part now. It’s crunch time for water quality in Ireland now and we all have to do our best. Everyone needs to take their responsibility for the piece in the jigsaw. And that is what the River Slaney Project is,” Cheryl Poole concluded.