Published in greennews.ie February 3, 2020 (link below). Over the past three weeks, as in all election cycles, we have become accustomed to the knock at the door from canvassers or candidates themselves are they vie for our number one at the ballot box. We have asked leading climate and biodiversity experts to tell us the key policy asks that they have raised with candidates when they come a-knocking. Next up is Féidhlim Harty, the director of FH Wetland Systems, an environmental consultancy company specialising in wetland and willow system design based in Co Clare. He is also the author…
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Charlotte Watkivs, blogger and Social Entrepreneur at www.zerowastelife.co.uk interviews environmental consultant Feidhlim Harty, author of the new book, Towards Zero Waste. Posted on 10 Dec 2019.
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First published in Horticulture Connected on November 7, 2019 Feidhlim Harty explains why we need to see greater use of swales in the Irish landscape The incorporation of swales to mitigate the negative impacts of rainwater runoff in designed schemes is not new. However, their use in Ireland has really only taken off in the last decade. In this feature, I look at how a variety of development and environmental pressures are spurring a huge interest in the design and incorporation of swales in designed landscapes, and how best they can be used. Have you ever wondered how we got…
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In the first of a series of environmentally-focused landscape articles, environmental consultant, Féidhlim Harty explores how edible species can be incorporated into designed landscapes. As the coordinator of Garden of Eden Projects Ireland, he has a particular emphasis on community projects, but the same plants, pointers and principles can be applied to any garden or landscape design First published in Horticulture Connected on Oct 1st, 2019 (https://horticultureconnected.ie/horticulture-connected-print/2019/summer-2019/insight-summer-2019/the-edible-landscape/) We have the potential to add edibles throughout our parks, housing estates and wider landscapes. Hedges can be grown from Corylus, Rubus and Ribes cultivars as well as the more familiar edibles such…
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The following downloadable document is a pdf of an article on sewage treatment written in 2019 for Permaculature Magazine entitled: “Cleaning Effluent with Plants – Feidhlim Harty explains how to clean up household effluent with willow in special percolation areas rather than wasting nutrients and polluting groundwater.”
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First published by the Permaculture Association (https://www.permaculture.org.uk/articles/permaculture-sewage-treatment-first-aid-and-future-proofing-our-rivers-and-seas). Well actually, it wasn’t in the hay barn, nor with a broken roof tile. But Ophelia is guilty for something alright. The recent storms downed electricity lines around Ireland and the UK. One of the impacts was an interruption to sewage treatment systems. So what? Not as important as missing the Sunday game, you may argue. Well, for the fish, aquatic insects, birdlife, animals and people living downstream of malfunctioning sewage treatment systems it can be quite serious indeed. Life or death in some cases. If we want to create sustainable, healthy systems…
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Published first in the Council Journal (https://council.ie/galway-conference-shine-light-on-natural-and-constructed-wetlands/) on 22 July 2016 By Féidhlim Harty The recent international conference on natural and constructed wetlands in NUI-Galway hosted experts from across Ireland and elsewhere in Europe; and as far afield as Australia, Asia and North and South America. The conference was the first of its kind in Ireland to bring together speakers from natural wetland and peatland research as well as from the growing environmental engineering field of constructed wetlands and reed beds for wastewater treatment and water quality protection. We are lucky here in Ireland to have a rich diversity of natural…
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First published for Feasta on April 26th, 2016, reproduced here in full. Link to original article below. Introduction Closed loop agriculture is farming practice that recycles all nutrients and organic matter material back to the soil that it grew in. This forms part of an agricultural practice that preserves the nutrient and carbon levels within the soil and allows farming to be carried out on a sustainable basis. Current farming practice (as shown in Figure 1) relies heavily on imported nutrients to sustain high production. We eat the food; and then the nutrients and biomass from faeces and urine are…
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An in depth interview with Féidhlim Harty from FH WETLAND SYSTEMS Ltd. The Council Journal speaks to Mr. Harty regarding his new book as well as how best to use waste as a resource… First published in the Council Journal on 15th April 2015 (https://council.ie/harnessing-waste-as-a-resource/). Feidhlim, congratulations on the recent publication of your very well-received new book – Septic Tank Options and alternatives. The book has been praised for offering a comprehensive guide to a wide range of sewage treatment options for households and businesses. What general advice can you give to environmentally-conscious homeowners and business owners looking at the…
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Published for Feasta on 19th Sept 2014 (https://www.feasta.org/2014/09/19/sustainable-water-use/) Like many things in modern life, the vast majority of our current water and wastewater infrastructure is completely dependant upon fossil energy to keep the toilets flushed and the taps running. Even the word “wastewater” itself assumes that we have no better use for the water that we flush out of our homes or the nutrients and biomass it contains than to dump it. In a truly sustainable society, “sewage” would be a word of the past, and we would begin to hear terms not typically used in today’s media like “humanure”…