GALLERY: Giant Panda guardians visit Drumshanbo Distillery Nature Reserve!

Drumshanbo Shed Distillery Nature Reserve this week twinned with China’s Giant Panda National Park this week with a special Twinning ceremony taking place to mark the occasion. 

Speaking to the Leitrim Observer, PJ Rigby, owner of the distillery, said that the connection came about after he and his wife Denise travelled to China. 

He told us: "It came about for a number of reasons. Denise and I were in China last November and we met with the Sichuan Green Foundation and built a connection with them to raise funds for them and we are doing that through the sale of a special pack - Panda Conservation Edition of Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin. We are raising money for the preservation of the panda."

Two Chinese Panda Guardians, Ms Yang Qin of the Giant Panda National Park and Ms Zhang Li of the Sichuan Green have travelled from Sichuan to Drumshanbo to take part in the celebrations.

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PJ continued that everything related to the Giant Panda in China is done through the government "so this was a bit of a breakthrough; it was facilitated by the Chinese Ambassador here and our relationships in China."

He said that while in China, they went to meet the Giant Pandas adding that the funds will go towards the Sherpas, "the guardians that keep an eye on the wild pandas and they don't intervene unless they have to. It is as much a friendship and cultural exchange as it is financial support."

PJ and Denise invited the guardians to come to Ireland and they are currently staying in Leitrim. "We had asked them if they would be interested in twinning with our nature reserve which is very small and has just started. We just bought 80 acres of outside Drumshanbo  10,000 tons of carbon will be stored there and we are going to try and turn that into a peaceful place for nature. They said that they would love to that."