I was delighted, recently, to be involved, as a longtime committee member of Pro Silva Ireland to help host the international Pro Silva delegates’ 3-day meeting and forest site visits in County Wicklow June 14-16, 2023. Very experienced Close-to-Nature forestry delegates attended from 22 countries and generously shared their expertise, research, and how they are facing mounting ecological challenges in their forestry sectors in Europe and the United Kingdom.

We were blessed with dry weather for our forest dialogues and great spirits. This is because Pro Silva Ireland, the voluntary Irish NGO that has promoted close-to-nature (continuous cover – CCF) forestry practices in Ireland since 2000, has been so generously supported by the international Pro Silva organisation.

During the last two decades, individual Pro Silva European Close-to-Nature foresters from across Europe and the UK have annually visited Ireland, assisting and sharing their valuable knowledge in the twice-yearly open forest days that Pro Silva Ireland organises around the island of Ireland and with research and policy advice too.

Different national Pro Silva countries have also hosted special Pro Silva Ireland study tours too – I’ve been lucky enough to see glorious, more resilient, beautiful permanent forests in Slovenia (three times – Slovenia is a remarkable permanently forested country which, under national law, hasn’t clear-felled forests for over 70 years), and Hungary, France, Scotland, and Wales since I joined back in 2009. I know being part of high-level, rich conversations with eminent foresters has been crucial for my confidence as a forest caretaker. And it’s why wee Hollywood forest in South Carlow, Ireland, in its 15th year of transformation with Close-to-Nature management is equally becoming a more resilient, biodiverse, birdsong-filled and productive woodland.

So for this special event, I and the rest of the Pro Silva Ireland committee, and past Chairs of Pro Silva Ireland all wanted to showcase developing Irish Closer-to-Nature forests and express our gratitude to Pro Silva international for their wisdom and friendship over many years. It’s taken decades of careful inclusive conversations as it is no small task to turn an entire sector toward new practices, away from the dominant entrenched colonial-extractive-economics-only-matter mindset. I briefly chatted with Green Party Minister Pippa Hackett, who opened the event. She has battled in recent years to introduce a more progressive forest program and she said it was exemplary how Pro Silva so warmly, inclusively and professionally embraces change.

This post above (click on first paragraph above) includes all the detailed Meeting Reports and photos from this special Pro Silva Ireland event, from the Pro Silva website. There were many highlights: from celebrating Past Pro Silva Ireland Chairs’ leadership and their inclusive strategies, to international Pro Silva research, to hearing a report from a representative from the International Forest Student Association IFSA about how young foresters around the world are exploring wiser closer-to-forestry practices. It was heartening to see more women involved too as they are often more fluent in forests’ broader ecological values (for environmental, cultural, social, spiritual and intergenerational well-being beyond economic values alone), not forgetting that many women across the world lead the frontlines defending forests too. However, education for wiser forestry in high schools and universities is still incredibly limited. So there is much to do, through all this change, and new and old friendships are at the heart of collective change for permanent forests and a better world.