Climate-Smart Agricultural Strategies from Brook Hall Estate, Northern Ireland

Brook Hall Estate & Gardens shows how a 17th century property can lead 21st-century climate-smart agriculture. Earlier this month I was in the U.K. for the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) annual conference. While there, Dr. Alexa Lamm and I had the opportunity to visit Brook Hall Estate & Gardens in Derry – Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Our hosts, Prof. John Gilliland and David Gilliland, generously shared three hours of candid discussion about the past, present, and future of the estate and climate smart agriculture as well as showing us the estate grounds (from willows to walled gardens!).

David and Prof. John Gilliland from Brook Hall Estate & Gardens

The history of the estate was one of the highlights of the visit. Seeing a walled garden which served as one of the main food sources for the city of Derry - Londonderry over 300 years ago, provided a sense for the connection between the estate and agricultural production. However, one of the most exciting parts of the visit was learning about all the climate-smart practices and scientific efforts the estate is undertaking. Prof. Gilliland discussed how the estate is serving as a living laboratory with historical records describing agricultural and horticultural practices over the past 5+ generations. This record, along with an ethos for innovation and experimentation provides an outstanding model of the type of creative and system based thinking which will be necessary to ensure a safe and viable food system.

We were also very fortunate to see how the estate is using novel LIDAR technology (originally developed for archeological work) to map every tree, hedge, and shrub on the property. This process, in combination with direct soil carbon measurements, is then providing an empirical representation of the carbon footprint of the estate.

Prof. Gilliland sharing a LIDAR rendering of an estate

We were incredibly inspired by the work being done at Brook Hall Estate & Gardens and are very excited to integrate the insights shared with us into our teaching, research, and Extension efforts. Thank you to John and David for your time and insights!