Protect Your Roots : Working to Restore and Conserve Native Forests in Ireland Using a Grass Root Approach linking Natural and Cultural Heritage

Abstract

Protect Your Roots : Working to Restore and Conserve Native Forests in Ireland Using a Grass root Approach Linking Natural and Cultural Heritage. Andrew St. Ledger - The Woodland League, Ireland The Woodland League: stledgerwood@gmail.com Abstract The Woodland League is a not for profit NGO, dedicated to restoring the relationship between people and their Native Woodlands. We are actively engaged with three community native woodlands - one large scale and two small scale -native forest restoration projects. We conduct educational walks and talks with tree planting in native woodlands, schools, and communities.

Today less than 0.002% of Ireland’s land area consists of ancient native woodland. (Ref: Cross J.R. 2012, Ireland's Woodland Heritage. Department of Arts Heritage and Gaeltacht.)

Our micro plan is a grassroots led initiative to inspire the creation of new community native woodlands using the locally grown trees, allowing local communities to take direct action on Climate Change.

We have developed a basic introduction education manual, The Woodland League, "Know Your Native Trees” which has been digitised to form an E-learning platform for schools. It is also complimented by the Woodland League, "Forest in a Box", a copy nature, tree seed incubator system for schools to actively promote and encourage an understanding of the value of native woodlands with the aim of creating new community native woodlands. Thanks to these instruments, local children are investing in their own sustainable future in partnership with their communities.

The Woodland League, "Forest in a Box" project, provides an answer to the message of the new film, "Call of the Forest, the Forgotten Wisdom of Trees" by Diana Beresford Kroeger, a consultant scientist of The Woodland League. The message of the film is a call to action for native woodland restoration on a global scale, "By the People for the People". The Bretha Comaithchesa, ( Ref :Fergus Kelly, Early Irish Farming, School of Celtic studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1997)which are the old Gaelic Brehon Laws- of Neighbourhood- concerned with community forest rights, are highlighted in the film.

The Great Forest of Aughty is our macro plan, and is a native woodland restoration project. It aims to bring farmers, local communities, schools, private landowners, local authorities and public land managers together to restore, conserve, and expand the remaining shreds of ancient Irish woodland within the footprint of what was once a mighty oak forest, covering 100 square miles and is replicable. The western Atlantic temperate climate makes conditions near perfect for the growth of broadleaf trees.

The project aims to link the existing ancient forest pockets and other native/semi natural woodlands via ecological corridors, using rivers and streams to create linear riparian forests. This will enhance the ecological integrity of the existing woodlands for their future viability.