Latest news with #ChrisWatson
Irish Independent
06-08-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Dedicated farm walk to be held on mixed dairy beef and tillage farm in Cork County
The O'Keeffe's run a mixed dairy beef and tillage farm in Glanworth, County Cork (P51 Y953). The farm event is being held by Kepak Cork and it will focus on practical steps farmers can take to improve farm efficiency, meet evolving customer demands, and build resilient beef businesses. Topics will include market insights, animal health, genetics, and funding supports for sustainability. The event will also mark the formal launch of Kepak's new sustainability approach, 'Forward Together With Every Step.' This platform reflects Kepak's commitment to supporting farmers in making sustainability practical, achievable, and rewarding. It focuses on sharing knowledge, offering support, and creating opportunities; on farms, across operations, and in communities to help build a more resilient and profitable future for Irish beef farming. A strong speaker line-up from across the industry will speak at the farm event. The line-up includes: • Market Trends & Customer Demands – Chris Watson, Kepak Commercial Sales Director & Joe Burke, Senior Manager for Meat & Livestock, Bord Bia • Genetics & Cattle Selection – Chris Daly, ICBF; Craig Buttimer & Edward Quinn, Kepak Procurement Team • Animal Health & Vaccination Protocols – Pat Noonan, Millvalley Veterinary Clinic; Emma Sargent, Ruminant Area Veterinary Manager. MSD • Sustainability Supports & Funding – Luke McDermott & Seamus Shealy, Kepak Sustainability Team Edward Quinn, Kepak Procurement Manager, said the team at Kepak Cork is looking forward to hosting this farm walk. 'Kepak Cork works with an extensive network of supplier farmers like the O'Keeffe's, many of whom have been with the company since its inception. These long-standing relationships span across Munster and beyond, ensuring a consistent and high-quality supply of livestock.' Mr Quinn continued: 'The farm walk will offer an opportunity for farmers to hear from industry experts on the direction of the beef market, customer requirements and the importance of optimising genetics and herd health for sustainable and viable farm performance. 'It's also a chance to learn more about the many supply options Kepak offers to support sustainable and profitable beef farming,' he added. Host farmer Brian O'Keeffe said his family are looking forward to welcoming the farming community in Munster, neighbours and friends to the farm. 'We'll be showcasing what we've done to promote on farm efficiency, as well as the steps we have taken to ensure we can continually breed profitable and productive animals that make sense for our farm operation. We hope it'll be a valuable and enjoyable evening for everyone.' The event which will run from 6pm to 9pm is free to attend and refreshments will also be served.
CTV News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Saint John council set for final vote on Spruce Lake Industrial Park future
After passing the first and second readings of a proposed industrial park expansion on the city's western outskirts, Saint John City Council will have its third and final vote on the plan Monday night. In mid-June, councillors unanimously passed the first two readings that would see 1,500 acres of land in the community of Lorneville rezoned for heavy industry. The proposed expansion has been a highly debated topic since Lorneville residents were first given a letter about the plans in July 2024. The idea has been met with heavy resistance from much of the community. 'It's been, first and foremost, on our minds for over a year,' says Lorneville resident Chris Watson. 'The industrial park was basically thrust upon us out of the blue.' City staff held several meetings with the community, but Lorneville residents who attended those meetings have previously said they did not feel heard and the meetings felt more like a formality. Major concerns include the idea of heavy industry located in close proximity to people's properties, and the destruction of provincially significant wetlands. Watson also recently discovered a red spruce tree in an area of the forest under threat that is believed to be more than 400 years old, making it one of the oldest trees in all of New Brunswick. Acadian Forest Dendrochronology Lab lead at Mount Allison University Ben Phillips said the forest is the third-oldest age forest in the province based on the 20 oldest trees in the area. 'We're resoundingly against this,' Watson says. 'We will continue to fight and stand up for our community, and we're not we're not backing down.' The community still has many questions they say council has not yet answered regarding the proposed park expansion. The 71 total questions include what the business plan is, what will happen to the area's clean drinking water, and what is the plan for compensating any wetlands destroyed by the project. In late June, the Caribou Club – a land-based treaty education and recreation facility located about a half hour outside Fredericton – walked through the old growth forest. An invitation for the walk was extended to the mayor and members of city council but a letter directed to members of council states no one attended. The letter goes on to say the land is already developed with an old growth forest, and urged council to rethink the expansion idea on the property. 'You have considered the economic value but not the cultural or spiritual value of this forest,' the letter reads. 'Decisions about land use cannot be made in isolation; they must be based in a shared understand of the historical and contemporary significance of the land to all of us.' Watson says the land up for expansion is Crown land, and indigenous partners should be consulted as much as anyone. When asked about her decision to not attend the walk led by the indigenous group, Mayor Donna Reardon told CTV News Atlantic she had toured the forest ahead of the public hearings beginning in May. When asked for comment ahead of the final vote, the mayor said the 'appropriate approach would be to all the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) to be completed and formulate any required plans once there is a definitive report available.' Lorneville residents are hopeful the EIA will back their argument and save the old growth forest. Watson says residents have asked to speak with both the province's Environment Department and Natural Resources Minister John Herron on the file but have not heard back. There is no clear timeline for when the EIA will be completed. Lorneville A wetland in Lorneville, N.B., is pictured. (Source: Avery MacRae/CTV News Atlantic) For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Playground to open outside heritage centre
A natural playground is being built in a country park after receiving £150,000 in funding. The new park is being constructed at the the Land of Oak & Iron heritage centre within the Derwent Walk Country Park in Gateshead. It has been designed in keeping with the area's natural surroundings and will include a wooden climbing frame, swings and a roundabout. Chris Watson, from Groundwork NE & Cumbria, which owns the centre, said the playground would allow more "family-focused" events to take place. "We host many wonderful events and activities at the centre, from seasonal children's trails and school holiday activities to music events, creative workshops and heritage talks," he said. "This new natural play park will be an exciting addition, which we hope will attract more families, and allow us to host more family-focused activities in the safe environment of the heritage centre." The Land of Oak & Iron promotes the local woodland as well as the area's heritage of British sword making and iron and steel production. Visitors were asked for their views on what should be added to the centre and a children's play park was the most popular recommendation. The playground's equipment will be installed in time for the school summer holidays in July and will be placed on top of turf, rather than synthetic flooring, to fit in with the natural landscaping. The £150,000 investment was provided through the government's Shared Prosperity Fund. John McElroy, cabinet member for environment and transport at Gateshead Council, said the playground would give more children access to green space and the "associated physical and mental health benefits this delivers". Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. New trail 'connects area's historic sites' Beams supporting woodland path damaged Land of Oak & Iron Groundwork NE & Cumbria
BBC News
05-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Natural play park being built in Gateshead country park
A natural playground is being built in a country park after receiving £150,000 in new park is being constructed at the the Land of Oak & Iron heritage centre within the Derwent Walk Country Park in has been designed in keeping with the area's natural surroundings and will include a wooden climbing frame, swings and a Watson, from Groundwork NE & Cumbria, which owns the centre, said the playground would allow more "family-focused" events to take place. "We host many wonderful events and activities at the centre, from seasonal children's trails and school holiday activities to music events, creative workshops and heritage talks," he said."This new natural play park will be an exciting addition, which we hope will attract more families, and allow us to host more family-focused activities in the safe environment of the heritage centre." The Land of Oak & Iron promotes the local woodland as well as the area's heritage of British sword making and iron and steel were asked for their views on what should be added to the centre and a children's play park was the most popular playground's equipment will be installed in time for the school summer holidays in July and will be placed on top of turf, rather than synthetic flooring, to fit in with the natural £150,000 investment was provided through the government's Shared Prosperity McElroy, cabinet member for environment and transport at Gateshead Council, said the playground would give more children access to green space and the "associated physical and mental health benefits this delivers". Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Global News
24-06-2025
- General
- Global News
Saint John warned against paving old-growth forest and putting up industrial park
A spruce tree in Saint John, N.B., likely dating back to around the time of famed French explorer Samuel de Champlain, is part of a forested area at risk of being paved over to make room for a new kind of habitat: an industrial park expansion west of the port city. Saint John city council recently approved the plans for the Spruce Lake Industrial Park, described on the business hub's website as a 'diverse ecosystem' of companies. Scientists, meanwhile, say the red spruce — likely about 400 years old — is among the oldest trees in the province, and the old-growth forest in which it stands is a piece of history the city should protect from the axe. 'When Samuel de Champlain sailed up the Bay of Fundy and into what is now the Saint John Harbour back in the early 1600s — that was around the same time this tree started growing,' said Chris Watson, a research scientist at University of New Brunswick's physics department. It was Watson, a resident of Lorneville, the small coastal community of 800 people where the industrial park is to be expanded, who collected a wood sample from the tree to determine its age. Story continues below advertisement Last week the City of Saint John voted 10-0 to expand the industrial park. Mayor Donna Reardon told the meeting that while council had heard residents' concerns, it needed to cater to the 'fastest-growing port in North America.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Growth isn't easy,' she said. 'It's always difficult — it's because we're not used to it in Saint John. So we've got to move forward.' An environmental impact assessment by a consulting company told the city the expansion site was of 'relatively low value, economically and ecologically.' Dillon Consulting did not return a request for comment. Ben Phillips, a scientist at Mount Allison University's Acadian forest dendrochronology lab, disagrees with Dillon's assessment that the area is of low ecological value. In a letter to Saint John city council, he said the forest 'contains old-growth trees that rival the oldest in New Brunswick.' 'At a minimum of 388 years old, the oldest red spruce from the proposed Spruce Lake industrial area is now confirmed among a small group of the oldest spruce trees in New Brunswick,' he wrote. 'This tree likely sprouted up as a sapling in 1625 and took 10 to 20 years to grow to the height where the increment core sample was extracted. That makes this tree approximately 400 years of actual age. Possibly only three to four previously sampled trees from New Brunswick may exceed this age. … Many of these trees were growing on this site when settlers arrived and began forestry operations in the late 1700s.' Story continues below advertisement A nearly 15-metre-wide area has been cleared in the wooded site for a new road — construction that Phillips said could have resulted in the cutting down of several very old trees. Other trees measured in the same area, he noted, 'were also of exceptional age.' 'It is surprising that this forest has survived the axe and then the chainsaw.' No projects have so far been announced for the new site. The final authority of environmental impact assessments rests with the province, Reardon said in an email. Neither the Environment Department nor the regional development authority returned requests for comment. At the forest in Lorneville, Watson rested his hand on the nearly 400-year-old red spruce and looked up. The tree's crown is twisted, knotted and gnarly, its branches draped with light-green lichen. 'That's called the old man's beard,' he said with a laugh. 'It's magical. It's spectacular. It's so unique,' Watson said, looking around at the forest floor covered with moss, lichens, various grasses and nearly metre-long ferns. 'And just the knowledge that some of these areas have been untouched for hundreds of years — it's amazing to be able to walk in these woods.' The industrial park expansion should not go ahead, he said, adding that he's not against economic growth — he thinks there are other areas that can be developed without destroying a unique ecosystem. Story continues below advertisement 'Leave it alone …. It's very rare to see, especially on Crown land, forests that are even just 100 years old. So, yeah. It should be absolutely left alone.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2025.
