As custodians of 50 beautiful acres in the Burren, we recognise that repairing our relationship to the earth and nature in a reciprocal way is an integral piece of the sustainability puzzle.
Our ambition for this land is for it to become a living example of permaculture in action. From the way we work in our Common Knowledge Gardens, to the wild land around us, we are committed to walking the path towards a regenerative way of working with the land, and it is our hope that it can be an inspiration for others.
VISIT THE GARDENS
As you wander through our gardens during summer, you meander past thriving organic vegetable beds and polytunnel, a chicken coop, native tree plantation, beehives, and an orchard. This area of our site is a ‘living classroom’ of sorts, where our permaculture, gardening, foraging, and nature connection courses are held. Our intention here is to create a space which invites visitors to really consider where their food comes from, whilst empowering people to start their own food growing journeys.
This space also serves the function of growing food for the meals offered on our courses and venue hires. Freshly harvested organic fruit, vegetables, medicinal herbs, aromatic edible flowers, eggs and honey are brought to the kitchen weekly. And with the Common Knowledge Kitchen situated less than 20 metres away, it doesn’t take much to go from farm-to-fork!
In the winter, the garden still offers a peaceful place to go for a wander and find some space between workshops.
WALK THE NATURE TRAIL
Of our 50 acres, just five acres are actively used by the centre and Common Knowledge aims to repair and nurture the rest of this traditional peatland. We wish to encourage biodiversity and ecology to allow the land to regenerate, whilst protecting it as a natural, educational resource in the heart of the Burren National Park.
Entered via a beautiful standing stone circle, our Nature Trail brings guests through the many distinct features of the land where wild plant and animal life can thrive, including peatlands, meadows, grasslands, hedgerows and a recent plantation of 3,000 native Irish trees.