Cambridgeshire-based rewilding charity Creating Nature’s Corridors has extended its important messaging to Ireland, following the planting of 500 trees and hedging at the farm headquarters belonging to The Happy Pear, the Irish twin brothers renowned for their plant-powered cooking and desire to make a positive impact on the planet.
Creating Nature’s Corridors founder Vhari Russell and an army of volunteers, including Steve and Dave Flynn (aka The Happy Pear) met at The Happy Pear’s four-acre regenerative farm based in Co Wicklow. The mission was to plant native trees and hedging supplied by a local nursery to create an effective windbreak and to provide precious shelter to The Happy Pear’s precious vegetable beds.
In line with The Happy Pear’s regenerative farming principles, designed to restore and maintain the health of the soil and water and encourage biodiversity, the planting followed a strict set of key principles. First each plant was scattered with rock dust to boost soil fertility, then it was given a kelp bath to deliver key nutrients before entering the soil, funghi was then sprinkled on the roots to encourage growth by allowing the plant to absorb more water and nutrients and finally bark chip mulch was applied (using bark chip waste from local tree surgeons) to help retain soil moisture and suppress weeds.
The planting team included Steve and Dave’s younger brother Darragh, and his three and half year old son Fion, as well as Dave’s 18-month-old daughter Fia.
Commenting on the day, founder Vhari Russell said, “It was a real pleasure to join The Happy Pear whose Eat Well, Feel Good, Live Better ethos very much resonates with the charity’s mission. Living better includes preserving the environment’s natural resources and taking action to improve carbon capture and restore biodiversity, measures which form a key strand of Creating Nature’s Corridors campaign messaging”.
