Today marks International Day of Forests - or Forestry Day. International days are often organised my large, global organisations - the UN being responsible for many. They say that international days are occasions to educate us all on issues of concern, to mobilise political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity.

The theme for 2022 is "Forests and sustainable production and consumption"

Some statistics from the UN this International Day of Forests:

Forests are home to about 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, with more that 60,000 tree species.
Around 1.6 billion people depend directly on forests for food, shelter, energy, medicines and income.
The world is losing 10 million hectares of forest each year - about the size of Iceland.

We have walked through miles and miles of forestry in our time. A lot of the negative media around g]forestry in Ireland is how much of it is monocultures (only one type of tree), being planted in rows and rows, which creates a farm as opposed to a habitat. Depending on what source you go by, the numbers relating to Irish woodland vary slightly, but in general, woodlands planted with native and diverse trees cover 1% - 2% of the total area of Ireland, with a following 8 - 10% being uniform stands of non-native species, typically conifers such as sitka spruce and lodgepole pine. (main source: Irish Wildlife Trust, Living Landscapes, 2018).

However, in general I’m a glass half full kind of person, and cannot help but be excited by the amazing changes that are happening around the country.

If you’re looking for groups and orgs that are actively planting trees, there are:

Reforest Nation - who have the current goal of planting 1 Million trees
Rewild Wicklow - A campaign to rewild Wicklow with native habitats and restore and improve its biodiversity

If you want to learn more about how our forests are changing, there is:

The Dublin Mountains Makeover
”Coillte owns and manages around half of the forests in the Dublin Mountains, with the remainder managed by private forest owners. When this land was first planted with trees between the early 1940s and late 1960s, Dublin was a much smaller city and nobody thought much about outdoor recreation in forests. Today, these forests are among the most important recreational sites for a growing urban population seeking fresh air and green space: Coillte’s most popular forest, Ticknock, has had on average over 1,000 visits per day in 2021!”

Until now, Coillte have managed these areas primarily for timber production through the usual monocultures of conifers. However, because of their popularity and proximity to the city, they are changing these forests completely, with the aim of putting the people and nature much higher on the agenda.
“Through the Dublin Mountains Makeover, an area of over 900 hectares across nine Coillte forests will transition away from the clearfell and replanting cycle towards a different model. Multi-generational forests managed under ‘Continuous Cover Forestry’ (CCF) principles will maintain their green canopy on a permanent basis. In other areas, Sitka spruce and lodgepole pine trees will be removed and replanted (R&R) with native species such as Scots pine, birch, rowan, oak, holly and willow to provide habitat for nature and bring autumn colours to the hills.”
The project started in June 2020, and is going to take many many years to complete. Over the past two years, the mountains have probably looked almost worse for wear, as large sections of the forests that have to be removed for the replanting have been cleared. I think it’s an ambitious project that I look forward to seeing develop. Changing existing forestry like this is a slow process, and doesn’t have the instant satisfaction or impact of flicking a light switch.
Coillte Nature
Coillte Nature is the not-for-profit branch of Coillte that is dedicated to the restoration, regeneration and rehabilitation of nature across Ireland. Their mission is to deliver real change on the climate and biodiversity crises through large-scale projects based on the best ecological evidence.
Their four themes are
- Afforesting our landscapes by planting new native woodlands on un-forested land
- Restoring important biodiversity areas by investing in major habitat improvements
- Regenerating urban forests for the benefit of people and nature
- Rehabilitating ecosystem services by bringing sensitive or degraded lands into better health

The National Tree Council of Ireland

As well as today being international forests day, this whole week is National Tree Week. it’s a mixture of online and in person events spread across the country, with a programme of events available here.

The Tree Council has some fantastic resources in general, such as the Tree Register of Ireland that they run with the Irish Tree Society. Since 1999 they have worked on this project with the aim of compiling a database of trees in Ireland. To date, there are over 11,000 trees on the register which are recorded using GPS technology to accurately determine tree location. They also have a fantastic list of native Irish trees, as well as downloadable Tree Trails for Dublin Parks.

Our Favourite Forests

Lough Key Forest Park, Co. Roscommon
Listing Lough Key almost feels like cheating, as it’s where we go every week - but surely that’s just more proof as to how great it is!
Located just outside of Boyle in Co. Roscommon, this woodland has a fantastic variety of trails and trees, and very family friendly. It’s also part of the miner’s way.
Mullaghmeen Forest, Co. Westmeath
Visited recently as a County High Point outing, Mullaghmeen Forest is Ireland’s largest Beech forest.
Slish Wood, Co. Sligo
Along the banks of Lough Gill, there’s a gorgeous easy 3km loop here that the Sligo Way passes along.
Laragh - Glenmacnass River Trails, Co. Wicklow
A beautiful mixed woodland, the trails here twist and turn magically, with plenty of spots to dip your toes in the river. We walked through here on the Wicklow Way.
Glengarra, Co. Tipperary
A long woods with an even longer history, Glengarra sits on slopes of the Galty Mountains outside of Cahir Co. Tipperary, and close to Mitchelstown Co. Cork. This former demesne woodland has many exotic tree and shrub species - such as huge Californian sequoias, and rare variations of Rhododendron. The looped trails here vary from 3 - 10km.
Knocksink Wood Nature Reserve, Co. Wicklow
Knocksink is both a nature reserve, and a special area of conservation. There is an amazing variety of wildlife here, and a really diverse ecosystem of trees. Currently, Leave No Trace is running a Community Engagement Project to repair and restore this woodland, as it has seen its visitor numbers increase year on year.

If there’s anything going on in the world or forest and trees in Ireland that you think we should know about, comment below, send us an email, or message us on social media.

Recently I wrote a piece for Leave No Trace Ireland on World Wildlife Day that you can check out here.

Update - March 23rd

Thanks to a blog email subscriber for letting us know that currently, the government are running a survey to determine the plan for Irish forests going forward!

Here is the link.

It takes apporx. 7 - 10minutes to complete.