Green shoots and deep roots - how Ronan is growing a brighter future for all

A new market garden enterprise with a focus on engaging with the land and with the origins of food is preparing to send out its first vegetable boxes.

Regenerative, sustainable and providing a platform whereby people can get hands-on with the land are all part of the core ethos of Shy By Nature. It is run by Letterkenny brothers Ronan and Gareth McNern with help from volunteers on the family farm in Inver in south Donegal.

Ronan lived abroad for much of his adult life and lent his support and PR expertise to a number of significant societal-changing movements. He describes feeling a burning desire in recent years to find a new role in life, whereby he was producing something worthwhile and was physically engaged with positive change.

And thus, Shy By Nature was born.

“My parents were delighted to see us doing something with the land,” said Ronan, as he stands at his water reservoir on the highest point of the farm.

“I see where people in my family grew up, where my father went to school. It really feels like home.”

Ronan's journey into social activism began when he moved to the UK where he worked in public relations (PR).

“It was about 15 years ago and it was a time of austerity,” he said. “I could see that the cuts were affecting LGBTQ people. Community and services were being lost and there was a burning in me to do something about it so I created a group called the Queer Resistance for people to come together so we could go to demonstrations etc.”

As the months passed, Ronan became aware of other injustices and issues. 

“I became involved in the Occupy movement in London,” he said. “I did the PR on that.

“It changed me totally. It broke me but it was also the making of me.”

Needing a change from PR, Ronan then moved to Spain.

“I spent my time working in an intensive eco project,” he said. “My little dog Shy was with me - that is where the name Shy By Nature comes from. 

“I was making jams and marmalades and I thought I would never work in PR again.”

In 2018, Ronan woke up one morning and thought, ‘why don’t I do a project for nature?’

He said: “Nature had healed me. The dog Shy had helped me, got me out walking in nature.

“Then I got a call from someone in the UK who said ‘there is a new movement and I think they need your help.’”

The movement was Extinction Rebellion and Ronan took up a role of getting its message into the media. 

In April 2019, the movement brought London to a standstill with its climate in crisis message.

“There were thousands of arrests but it was very beautiful to be at the heart of it,” said Ronan.

Not long afterwards, Ronan felt a growing desire to take a different approach to addressing the climate crisis.

“I felt like it was time do something myself rather than tell other people what to do,” he said. 

“My Uncle Hugh who farmed here had passed away in 2017 and I told my family I had an idea, and this is the beginning of that.”

Ronan is very grateful for the support of his family, neighbours and volunteers who are all playing a part in making the Shy By Nature vision a reality. It has already become a community in its own right.

“In the times we are in with the climate and environmental crises and the devastating cost of living, we need to give people ways of having space in nature,” said Ronan.

He believes that seeing the vegetables growing, and engaging with the volunteer days is a powerful way of connecting people with nature and with the land that feeds them. 

“If you are connected to something, you feel differently about it,” said Ronan. “You have a desire to protect it.”

Clearly, many people agree as there has been strong demand for the Shy By Nature vegetable boxes. Ronan and the team appreciate that some people will want a box every week, while others may want one fortnightly or will need to take a break for holidays etc. They are all catered for, and anyone who wishes to register will be advised if there is availability. 

Boxes include vegetables, salad leaves and fresh herbs. The produce is colourful, vibrant and absolutely delicious, a far cry from the insipid, mass produced items flown from the other side of the world that make up 70% to 80% of our vegetable consumption.

Ronan has further plans to plant fruit bushes and nut trees, but for now, his focus is on meeting supply for this first season. Everything is well thought out so that the most can be gained from each of the beds without compromising on the core principles of Shy By Nature. 

Not far from the McNern farm is Heather Hill Farm, run by Cathal Mooney who shares a similar ethos of carrying out regenerative farming which results in high quality produce. 

“It’s not so much that I am doing something huge here,” Ronan said. “It’s that what we have is one of a number of things that are happening that together can make a difference.”

Vegetable boxes from Shy By Nature have a cost price of €18 and are sold on a sliding scale, with some subscribers subsidising others so that people on lower incomes can get a box for €12. A one size veg box contains six to nine portions of different vegetables and is designed to provide a balanced diet for up to four people depending on your love of vegetables. 

“We choose the freshest seasonal veg, mixing it up so there is variety, including staples such as leafy greens plus more interesting items,” said Ronan. 

Typical veg across the season, plus herbs and surprises includes: mixed salad leaves, kale, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, beetroot, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, rocket, spinach, garlic, leeks, onions, beans and peas.

 Anyone who would like more information is invited to visit www.shybynaturefarm.ie

And for those who would like to get a true flavour of Shy By Nature, there will be a welcome event on Saturday, June 24. Those who come along will have the opportunity to tour the farm, meet the crew and taste produce from 10am to 11.30am, and will also have the option to participate in Volunteer Days.

Watching swallows swooping on the hillside and seeing Ronan’s dog playing among the rushes, there is a real sense of timelessness and connection here. It is a link not only to the land but to those who have gone before and to future generations for whom we have a responsibility to protect the earth - starting with our own little patch.