This inaugural SUAS Pilot Project (Sustainable Uplands Agri-environment Scheme) Open Day and Demonstration Event will provide insight to the project through a series of short talks and a site visit to a nearby participating upland commonage area.

Ireland’s Uplands are vital natural and cultural heritage sites which have been traditionally managed by upland farmers for generations. The SUAS Project aims to support upland farmers while protecting this significant heritage by remunerating farmers for activities which improve and protect their farmed habitats.

Organised to coincide for National Heritage Week, the event will commence in the Hollywood Community Centre at 11am where Declan Byrne, Project Manager of the SUAS Project and a number of other speakers, will give an overview of the project and the positive impact it is having to upland commonages. An exhibition from the National Rural Network on the EIP AGRI projects in Ireland will also be on display for all to enjoy.

The assembled group will then travel by bus to the nearby Granamore Commonage, which is one of the locations that was included in the first round of the SUAS Project.

The lands which are now within the boundaries of the Wicklow Mountains National Park, were formerly part of Lord Waterford Estate in County Wicklow and contain a number of interesting features such as old turf cutting banks, a small hill of blanket bog, a Mass rock, and the Douglas River and other water systems.The commonage area is being managed by ten shareholders, participating in the SUAS Project through a formal commonage group structure.

Those attending the event will be guided to four stops on the site to observe demonstrations related to the land management activities being undertaken as part of the project.

Presentations and discussion will include topics such as commonage management, roadway and culvert repair, gully planting and streamside vegetation, and vegetation management practices such as controlled burning and cutting. A number of speakers will contribute to the visit including representatives from NPWS, the UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science and a number of the local farmers.

Topic Examples include:

What is on our uplands and why are they important?
Enda Mullen, National Parks & Wildlife Service

Collective farming & management of our uplands
Monica Gorman, UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science

What is the SUAS Project actually doing?
Declan Byrne, SUAS Project Manager

The free event is open to all interested parties and includes refreshments and the transfer to Granamore by bus. Appropriate clothing and footwear will be required for the site visit which is quite exposed.  Due to transport logistics, advance booking is advised. Please RSVP to info@wicklowuplands.ie or 01-2818406.

For further information on the event, please visit: www.wicklowuplands.ie/suasproject