The Gods of Ireland’s Ancient Woodlands For thousands of years, Ireland’s forests were more than simply places where trees grew. They provided timber, fuel, food and shelter, but they also occupied another place in the Irish imagination. Woodlands marked boundaries between the familiar and the unknown. Great...
Forestry Advice in Ireland: Why Clear, Independent Stewardship Matters A forestry dispute can arise at any stage. It might concern a new planting, a forest road, a grant application, maintenance work or a harvesting operation. The immediate question may be about a payment, a map, a...
Forestry is usually discussed in terms of plans, grants, planting specifications, inspections, thinning schedules and timber prices. All of those things matter. But woodland is not managed as a series of isolated tasks. It develops over decades, and the quality of its management depends heavily...
The Reality of Forest Harvesting in Ireland Most people think of forest harvesting as the easy part of forestry. The trees have finished growing, the machinery arrives, the timber is loaded and driven away. Compared with planting or managing a forest, harvesting appears straightforward. The reality is very...
The Reality of Actual Tree Planting on a Commercial Scale, Where Human Labour Meets Management in the Mud. Forestry is often reduced to silviculture, paperwork, and regulation. All of those things matter, but they are only part of the picture. Real forest management is, above all...
Ecoplan Forestry: Historic Record & Chronological Archive A running chronological record of our day-to-day forestry operations, field milestones, and completed woodland projects across Ireland spanning over fifteen years. Below is an unedited look at our work on the ground, navigating changing Department of Agriculture, Food and...
Beyond Trees: The Real Work of a Forester in Ireland Successful forest management in Ireland depends less on textbook theory and more on practical judgement, financial resilience, environmental responsibility, and the ability to coordinate people, solve problems, and make decisions that will still make sense decades...
Forest Biodiversity in Ireland Understanding the Variety of Life in Our Forests What is Forest Biodiversity Biodiversity is simply the variety of life. In forests, it means the plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms that live there, as well as the relationships between them and their environment. Forests are more than...
What Is Sustainable Forest Management (SFM)? Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) is the core principle behind modern forestry in Europe. It’s about managing forests in a way that meets our needs today — for timber, carbon storage, biodiversity, and recreation — without compromising the ability of future...
Ash Dieback in Ireland What It Means for Your Forest – and What You Can Do About It Introduction Ash Dieback is one of the most destructive tree diseases ever seen in Europe. Caused by a fungal pathogen (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus), it was first confirmed in Ireland in 2012....
Can Scots Pine Save Irish Forestry? The forestry industry in Ireland faces significant challenges, with declining biodiversity, concerns about monoculture plantations, and the need for sustainable timber sources driving a search for solutions. Among the potential saviours of this sector is a tree species that has...
Forests and Woodlands in Irish Mythology: Portals to Ancient Enchantment and Spiritual Connection To ancient Ireland, woodlands were living, sacred spaces where myth and reality often met. Many of the country’s oldest stories begin at the woodland edge. Introduction: In the rich tapestry of Irish mythology, forests and...
The History of Irish Forestry: From Ancient Roots to Modern Sustainability Introduction Welcome to our short guide on The History of Irish Forestry. In this article, we will delve into the origins and development of forestry in Ireland, tracing its journey from ancient times to the present...
What is the Giants Grove? It’s a lot more than you might think! The Giants Grove project is a partnership between Crann – Trees for Ireland, and Birr Castle Estate. On the surface it’s basically an 8 hectare (20 acre) green-field afforestation project in the heart...
The Birr Castle Bee Management Project How to Manage Forestry and Land for Bees The Birr Castle Bee Project began in 2019, at a time when few outside the Irish Beekeeping community were aware of the problems bees faced in Ireland. The Estate, as innovative as ever,...
Recording Forest Data for the Future at Giants Grove The worlds first forest management school was founded in the University of Giessen, the Holy Roman Empire, in 1778. For the majority of those almost 250 years the basic forest management tools were the humble pencil &...
Most Irish Oak Woodland Planted by Ecoplan In April 2022 the Central Statistics Office published details of Irelands afforestation for the first time. Covering all afforestation’s between 2007 to 2021, the report had several interesting findings. What surprised me most though was that Ecoplan Forestry Limited,...
The Incredible Carbon Storage of Giants Grove The joint Crann – Trees for Ireland and Birr Castle Giants Grove Project at Birr, Co. Offaly is the largest Redwood Forest outside of the USA. Already in its fifth year, one thousand redwoods have been established amongst native...
Forest Biodiversity at the Giants Grove Forest Biodiversity at the Giants Grove. While sequoias are the ‘stars’ of the Giants Grove, the project is about so much more than just the Redwoods. The Giants Grove is planted and managed for biodiversity, it is an ecosystem that...
What is Ecoforestry? Ecoforestry is a forest management practice which emphasises sustainability and forest biodiversity rather than pure financial returns. The responsible way to manage forests is through a design that minimizes interference and aims to protect the ecosystem as a whole. The focus is on...