Bean Feasa, meaning wise woman, celebrates the work of women helping to restore, protect and reimagine nature across Ireland.
Thursday, 24 September 2026, Ireland: Kerry nature advocates Lisa Fingleton and Rena Blake are among the stories of thirteen women being featured in Bean Feasa, a national portrait series co-created by award-winning photographer Evanna Devine, Tóchar Midlands Wetland Restoration and Photo Museum Ireland. The co-founders of The Barna Way have been selected for their contribution to nature restoration, sustainable farming, creativity and community participation.
For the past twenty years, Rena and Lisa have been restoring Rena’s family farm near Ballybunion, where her mother and grandmother were born. After Rena returned home from New York, the couple began transforming land into an organic farm that is now called The Barna Way – an eco-social project where nature restoration, sustainable farming, creativity and community come together.
Across the farm, Lisa and Rena have planted more than 10,000 native trees, restored species-rich meadows and created a lovelochán (pond for nature) and wetland habitats for wildlife. Nine acres of meadows now support an abundance of wild grass and flowers, including orchids and cuckoo flowers, while the wider farm provides habitat for hares, bats, foxes and pollinators. Their work extends beyond the boundaries of The Barna Way. Both Lisa and Rena are Farming for Nature Ambassadors and social farming facilitators, using the farm as a space where diverse groups can connect with nature, food, creativity and one another.
Their environmental work is also closely intertwined with their artistic practices. Rena is a photographer and community organiser who serves as Chair of Ballybunion Tidy Towns and is a member of the newly formed Ballybunion Nature Group. She has helped document and celebrate the relationship between people and place through her photography, including as lead photographer for Brilliant Ballybunion, A recent creative climate action project.
Lisa is an artist, filmmaker, writer and organic grower whose work explores the connections between creativity, ecology and social change. She is currently Kerry County Council’s Artist in Residence and has worked as the embedded artist with Brilliant Ballybunion. Through projects including the Ballybunion Bean Festival and The Local Food Project, she has also encouraged communities to think differently about local food, biodiversity, land use and climate action.
Speaking about their selection, Lisa and Rena said:
“We are delighted to be selected for this project. We are passionate about nature and have experienced such joy in watching our land become alive with other creatures as we restored and created habitats.”
Together, Lisa and Rena’s work at The Barna Way demonstrates how nature restoration can reach far beyond habitat recovery, bringing together sustainable farming, creativity and community participation while making space for both people and nature.
Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan, said:
“Bean Feasa is a powerful celebration of the women who are helping to restore, protect and reimagine nature in communities across Ireland. Each of the women featured in this series shows the vital role that local leadership, creativity and community action play in tackling biodiversity loss and building a deeper connection with the natural world.
“Through the partnership between Tóchar Midlands Wetland Restoration, Photo Museum Ireland and photographer Evanna Devine, this project will bring these important stories to a wider audience and shine a light on the people whose work is helping shape Ireland’s environmental future. I warmly congratulate all thirteen women selected for this inspiring national portrait series.”
Commenting on the announcement, Shirley Clerkin, Project Manager with Tóchar Midlands Wetland Restoration, said:
“Lisa and Rena embody the spirit of Bean Feasa. Their work demonstrates that nature restoration is about far more than habitats and species; it is about people, place and community. Through farming, creativity, education and environmental stewardship they have inspired others to take action and shown what can be achieved through long-term commitment to the land.”
Trish Lambe, CEO of Photo Museum Ireland, added:
“Bean Feasa recognises women whose work is shaping Ireland’s environmental future, while supporting a leading Irish photographic artist to create an important photographic record of that work. Evanna’s compelling portraits will connect these individual stories with the landscapes and communities around them, bringing this important work to wider audiences through this exhibition.”
Evanna Devine was awarded the €15,000 Bean Feasa Photography Commission following an international open call. As the national centre for contemporary photography, Photo Museum Ireland is supporting the development, production and curation of the work, including access to its specialist image-processing facilities. The completed series will be presented, along with a bespoke publication, at Photo Museum Ireland later this year before touring nationally. The Bean Feasa exhibition forms part of the wider work of Tóchar Midlands Wetland Restoration, one of Ireland’s largest nature restoration initiatives. The project reflects Tóchar’s commitment to ensuring that nature restoration is recognised not only as an environmental challenge but also, as a social movement driven by people working within their communities.
Tóchar Midlands Wetland Restoration is one of the largest restoration projects currently underway. It is a three-year, €12 million wetlands restoration project co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the EU Just Transition Fund Programme. The project is managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The commissioned portraits will form part of a public exhibition and publication launching in November 2026 before touring nationally.