Bloom

Our stand at Bloom was big hit..and was awarded a special commendation...

 

Woolapolooza

Woolapolooza May opportunity to indulge in all things woolly including sheep shearing, sheep dog demonstration and more... And the last chance to see Tom Nixon and his Clydesdales working the land

 

Mayday

On Sunday 2nd May we had the decoration of our (pre famine) Fairy Tree, a ceilidh on the lawn, fairy wand workshop for the children, and Heavy Horse Ploughing.

Tom Nixon of Trojan Heavy Horses has returned to Airfield this year to plough, till, roll and reseed three acres of the 35 acre estate. Tom worked with his Scottish Clydesdales just as he did thirty years ago in the same fields—he comes full circle following in the steps of his father who farmed the land at Airfield for years, and passed on his trade to Tom in the traditional way—from father to son. 

Name the calf

Thank you to all our visitors for their entries to our name the calf competition on Easter Day.

To view some of the art work, please follow the link.

 

12th & 13th September Heavy Horse Ploughing Demonstration

In keeping with Airfield’s commitment to sustainable farming, Airfield ploughed and tilled a field so it could be set with seed, restoring this farm's unique heavy horse heritage. Tom Nixon was the horseman and he came with his Clydesdales to work the soil as he had done in the time that the Overend’s lived at Airfield. 

'Tilling' the soil is done to produce a good 'tilth', the name given to a fine bed of earth that seeds can grow in. This is achieved by breaking down the large clods of earth (traditionally left exposed over the winter to frosts) which are the result of turning over the grass sod by slicing through it with a plough. Young and old enjoyed the magnificent horses, and we are happy to say that Tom and his Trojan horses will be back during the year to help reseed some of the fields at Airfield farm.

Conkers Bonkers On the 11th of October.

Children and adults battled it out to become the Airfield Conker champion, but it was Jackie from Kilmacud scouts that took the final honour. Congratulations Jackie and lets see can you retain your crown for next year! Have a look at more images here.

Scarefield!

Airfield’s annual Scarecrow building day was held on the 1st of November 2009, the entire middle field of the farm was given over to Ireland’s biggest scarecrow installation. Hundreds of families came to decorate and create their own unique scarecrow. They also enjoyed the spooky trail and the art workshop to create your own ghost.

Bulb Planting On the 8th of November.

Emer our gardener got some help with spring bulb planting from our visitors. We are getting ready for our biggest spring bulb display ever, in addition to thousands of bulbs around the estate, we are having a river of bulbs going through our picnic field. Be part of the sense of growth on the estate, plant a bulb at our next planting day 22nd of November an come back in Spring to see it in bloom.

New Cob oven in Airfield's Horticulture Field

Drop into our developing Hort Field to see our new cob oven created as part of a children's camp this August. The oven is built entirely from locally sourced natural materials- clay from the shore of our pond, dung from the horse paddock, straw from the farm and a dry stone base.The children celebrated the completion of the oven with a pizza making session including toppings provided from our allotments at Airfield. The oven is fuelled with wood from Airfield and can be used to cook a wide variety of tasty foods from home made bread to Italian style stonebaked pizza and morrocan tagine dishes. We look forward to using the oven at future events in Airfield.

New sound installation on Airfield's lawn

Listen here to the installation
MUSIC FOR MODERN ANIMALS by George Higgs telegraph ensemble with recordings of livestock orchestra

PARTS I, II & III - a composition created from the marriage of human language, animal language and morse code to be played through 3 hand powered listening posts

This sound installation is installed on our front lawn near the house.

This is the first phase of a project funded by the Arts Council. George Higgs will work with a group of young people in the Autumn to continue exploring music and sound in the context of the natural world.

George Higgs(b. 1968) is a composer, writer and director for theatre and cinema whose work has been performed across Ireland, in Russia and the United States. He has received numerous awards including the Director's Prize from the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, the Project New Work Award and commissions from the Arts Council, the Wellcome Trust, the Butler Gallery, the Science Gallery at Trinity College and City Arts among others. He holds a Masters degree in music technology from Trinity College Dublin and is represented by the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland.

In addition to George's work at Airfield, George is currently working on the Evolvaphone - an algorithm that creates music from two people's voices according to the laws of natural selection to premiere in November, 2009 - and Head of Hamlet - an installation for the Project Arts Centre in December, 2009. www.georgehiggs.com

Airfield has won the 2009 Envirocom Award under the category “Best Example of Engaging Communities in Environmental Projects”.

We also won this award last year, our first time entering the competition, so it was a great surprise to receive it this year again. The Envirocom Award is an initiative that has been devised to showcase innovation, dedication and success in environmental management in the county. They also encourage the development of sustainable communities, which reflect the use, and protection of the county's natural assets thus promoting healthy lifestyles.
There was quite stiff competition and Airfield was highly praised for its contribution and its place in making Dun Laoghaire Rathdown a better county to live in.

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