BRINGING THE FOREST HOME

The Illaun Farm-Forest EIP - Cores, Corridors, and Communities by RAY Ó’FOGHLÚ

For Hometree, and for many readers of this article, the idea of extensive tracts of native woodland in Ireland's western uplands is a thrilling proposition, however, talk of such things without reference to the communities being asked to change can create real challenges. Woodland creation, especially at scale, is a sensitive issue in rural Ireland, presenting serious social, cultural, and economic difficulties. Compounding this sensitivity is the reality that many communities feel let down by the forestry model pursued in recent decades, a model now in disarray.

In the hope of demonstrating an alternative approach, Hometree created the Illaun Farm-Forest EIP (European Innovation Partnership), a project which we hope acknowledges the identity, concerns, and aspirations of rural Ireland, as well as the perilous state of its biodiversity.

Hometree is a native woodland charity. Our model is to acquire land, place it in trust and return it to ecological health. We are ambitious in our work. In the years to come, we envisage creating hundreds, if not thousands of acres of wild woodlands. Some through planting, some through natural regeneration, and all solely in the service of nature.

Early on in our journey, we came to see farmers as key allies in our mission. Most of us had, in one way or another come from farming backgrounds, so it was a decision that came easily. Our desire to work closely with farmers is based on the reality that no matter how much land the trust holds, it will pale in comparison with the amount of privately owned farmland in Ireland - roughly seventy percent of the total. What happens on this land will be the single most influential factor in Ireland's biodiversity crisis. We believe if we can work constructively with farmers, we can exponentially increase our impact on the ground.

Now, more than ever farmers need support, especially those wishing to create native woodlands. They have been let down by the Irish forestry system. In the early nineties state policy shifted responsibility

for woodland creation to the private sector and onto private land. The afforestation which followed was intensely commercial in nature and caused great environmental harm, culminating in 2018 with findings of regulatory malpractice made against the state in the European Court of Justice. The model has become deeply unpopular, particularly in areas with high percentages of land planted.

Today, woodland creation, of all types, has come to a standstill. Landowners, environmentalists and industry are united in demands for reform. At the exact time Ireland needs a healthy forestry sector creating diverse, accessible, multifunctional forests, we seem to have crashed the sector headlong into a wall.

It is in this atmosphere we created the Illaun Farm-Forest EIP. The starting point for our project was a network of littleknown sessile oak woods clinging on in river valleys near Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare. In 2021 we sought funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine to work in partnership with local

Surviving patches of native forest typically follow rivers or steep gullies. Photos by Ray Ó’Foghlú

Atlantic hazel woodland.

farmers, to increase the size, quality and connectivity of these woodlands.

Our EIP is now up and running and fully subscribed. We are delighted to be working with a fantastic group of farmers. The first step for each is a visit from our foresterecologist team. We walk the farm, share ideas and create a plan to integrate native woodlands in ways that are useful for biodiversity and also useful to the farmers. We wish to counter the common perception of forestry as a land-use that displaces farming and instead, present it as a complementary land use. On the ground this takes the form of shelterbelts, windbreaks or riparian woodlands. Once established, these trees will provide shelter for livestock, intercept polluting nutrients and sediments from entering watercourses, and increase on-farm habitat, as well as providing connectivity at a landscape level. For larger areas our forester works closely with the farmer to make a native woodland scheme application, which will generate a new income stream.

Land-use change can pose difficult questions for farmers around purpose, identity and at a collective level - way of life. There is a very real fear of being the one that undid previous generations’ work clearing and draining the land. One farmer on our programme said “you can hear them in the pub saying “he has gone and planted the farm” - like there has been a death in the family.”

At a practical level, trees displace grass, which leads to livestock reduction. A farmer may risk being out of step with peers or subject to the perception of having ‘failed’ to farm successfully. Afforestation also devalues land, and current government policies offer little recompense for this. As parents, many farmers worry if this type of change is in their children’s best interests. On our farm visits we grapple with these issues, and although we are making great progress, it is clear we do not currently possess the necessary policy tools to fully allay concerns.

We imagine a future landscape of significant wild spaces interspersed with vibrant farming communities. The large ‘core’ areas can be composed of semi-state land (Bord na Móna and Coillte) supplemented with new and expanded national parks acquired through noncompulsory state purchase. For the farmland between, we believe small locally adapted programmes such as our own, schemes which are sensitive to landscape and culture, can integrate nature in the form of native woodlands, wildflower meadows, or active bogs. The efficacy of such programmes has been demonstrated by the Burren Life and the Bride Projects. A common feature of which is that they are delivered within the community, often by the community, in response to issues known best to the community.

Blunt top-down policies have failed. Maybe in this time of crisis, the only way to go big is to think small.

Ray Ó Foghlú is the Landowner Engagement Coordinator at Hometree – a charity based in County Clare (www.hometree.ie). The Illaun Farm-Forest EIP is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. See our competition page for a chance to win a copy of Under Summer Pastures, a collection of new writing collated by Ray.