Field Exchange celebrates success of two-day festival promoting sustainable agriculture and the arts
● Farmers, artists, food producers and local people shared ideas on creative approaches to sustainable agriculture.
● RTÉ’s Ella McSweeney joined a range of contributors involved in creative arts, climate action, and the agriculture industry
● Event was hosted by Brookfield Farm, an award-winning organic farm and conservation area for Native Irish Honey Bee.
The Field Exchange festival has established an inclusive space where creative approaches to sustainable agriculture are shared. The successful festival, which took place at the weekend in Co. Tipperary, has also provided sustainable farming enthusiasts with a wider circle of connections.
The two-day event was held at Brookfield Farm on the shores of Lough Derg. Farmers, foresters, artists, food producers, and local people were invited to share ideas and increase their knowledge of sustainable agriculture practices through a series of workshops, demonstrations, and panel discussions.
The event featured contributions from major stakeholders and commentators in the creative and Sustainability space. Participants included:
● Tania Banotti, Director of Creative Ireland;
● Sadhbh O’Neill, a senior climate advisor for Friends of the Earth;
● Ella McSweeney, a food and farming journalist with RTE;
● Ailbhe Gerrard, the Field Exchange project promoter;
● Artist groups the Company of Trees and Ackroyd & Harvey;
● Ruth Hegarty, food policy commentator and MD Egg & Chicken;
● and a host of farmers.
Events ran from 12pm to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday, with both days featuring interactive Talks with artists and designers and an exquisite mixed discipline performance of the Company of Trees, a musical and spoken word production exploring the impact of trees on our daily lives written by Michael James Ford and Philip Dodd. The piece was performed by Susannah De Wrixon, Michael James Ford, Kyle Hixon and the Delmaine String Quartet and featured photographic and visual images by Brendan Keogh.
An exhibition by renowned artists Ackroyd & Harvey proved a strong attraction. Their verdant portraits of Tipperary farmers and a tree made from living grass canvas were followed by a celebratory dinner in the barn at Brookfield Farm on Saturday evening.
In addition to art showcases and musical performances, workshops were provided in woodturning, leather tanning, and sugan chair-making. Representatives from event partners the Irish Agroforestry Ireland Forum (IAF) and the Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland (DSWAI) also hosted demonstrations in agroforestry and the construction of dry stone walls.
The breathtaking landscape of Brookfield Farm, Coolbawn, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, was the inspiring backdrop for the festival. This award-winning organic farm is a conservation area for the Native Irish Honey Bee. The festival is the brainchild of the farmer, beekeeper, and teacher who runs Brookfield Farm, Ailbhe Gerrard.
Ailbhe ran a pilot version of the Field Exchange Festival in 2022 and, based on that success, secured funding for a two-year project—also called Field Exchange—on creative agriculture and climate.
The more comprehensive project is structured around the two annual festivals. It includes a series of one-day workshops, discussions, and hands-on activities that build upon a community of farmers and integrate the vision and creativity of artists into sustainable farming practices and habitat enhancement.
Project promoter Ailbhe Gerrard, an An Taisce Climate Ambassador and a Farming for Nature Ambassador, says:
“We are delighted by the success of this year’s Field Exchange festival. It’s truly exciting to see the increasing level of interest among farmers, foresters, artists, and local people in exploring how we can make farming more sustainable and maintain the security of Ireland’s food systems for future generations.
“This year’s gathering aimed to kick-start the imagination of attendees, arming them with the necessary tools to combat climate change and biodiversity loss while helping them understand the role of agriculture and the arts in achieving those aims. We look forward to building on the progress of this year’s festival next year with the Field Exchange 2025.”
Field Exchange is one of 43 Creative Climate Action Fund projects taking place across the country. The projects work with communities using creativity to envision a better future and empower people to make real changes in how they interact with the environment.
Field Exchange is a recipient of the Creative Climate Action fund, an initiative from the Creative Ireland Programme. It is funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in collaboration with the Department of the Taoiseach. The fund supports creative, cultural and artistic projects that build awareness around climate change and empower citizens to make meaningful behavioural transformations.
About Brookfield Farm
Brookfield Farm is an award-winning, diverse organic farm, a conservation area for the Native Irish Honey Bee, and a nature-friendly place for wildlife to thrive. We welcome visitors for farm experiences, such as lakeshore views, broadleaf forestry, meadows, lambs, crops, honey bee hives, and craft demonstrations. We also produce award-winning honey for sale and a range of handmade gifts – including beeswax candles – all produced on the farm. www.brookfield.farm
About Ailbhe Gerrard
Ailbhe Gerrard is the farmer and beekeeper behind Brookfield Farm. With a successful career in project management for construction, she returned to Brookfield Farm, beside her family home. Ailbhe received an MSc in sustainable development from University College London and an MSc in organic farming for three years at Scottish Agricultural College (SRUC). Research on farms reaching people directly was funded with a Nuffield Agricultural Scholarship, and she regularly lectures in agriculture at third level. Both a Climate Ambassador and a Farming for Nature Ambassador, Ailbhe has farmed at Brookfield for over 13 years, converting the farm to organic, developing new ideas and making collaborations with farmers, artists, and agricultural experts. Ailbhe’s commitment to sustainability, education and creative agriculture has led to recent awards, including RDS Sustainable Farming Award, the RDS Social Impact Award, Image Magazine + PwC Sustainability Champion, SIMA International Award for Social Impact in agriculture, Climate Ambassador Outstanding Achievement award.
About The Creative Ireland Programme:
The Creative Ireland Programme is a five-year programme that connects people, creativity, and well-being. It is an all-government culture and well-being programme that inspires and transforms people, places, and communities through creativity. The programme is committed to the vision that every person in Ireland should have the opportunity to realise their full creative potential.
Further information on the Climate Action Fund is available at the following link:
