forests

Visiting the Sessile Oaks of Raheen Forest, Tuamgreany, East Clare, West Ireland

I was back in the woods with my ProSilva Ireland forest family last weekend. With foresters,  ecologists, forest owners, tree-harvesters, forestry students and newcomers, we visited the beautiful broadleaf and conifer-mixed Raheen forest near Scariff in Co. Clare (West Ireland). There are remnants of wonderful ancient Sessile Oak woods there (picture above), and they, and…Read more Visiting the Sessile Oaks of Raheen Forest, Tuamgreany, East Clare, West Ireland

Mapping Spectral Traces 8: The Place of the Wound – Attending to places wounded by the legacies of historical violence

 “The struggle of embracing our moment—is the struggle that we live in the most destructive moment in 65 million years!” Brian Swimme, Professor of Integral Studies and evolutionary philosopher, The New Story, 2006 “There are opportunities even in the most difficult moments.” Dr. Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner, first woman in Africa to get…Read more Mapping Spectral Traces 8: The Place of the Wound – Attending to places wounded by the legacies of historical violence

Why ancient tree knowledge in Ireland matters today: Blackstairs Ecotrails film and Ogham tree-teaching stone

Today, Ireland only has remnants of its ancient forests and has one of the lowest levels of tree cover in Europe. While afforestation is promoted with plantations of conifers and native trees (tree cover across Ireland is around 12%) there is value in considering how ancient forests were once regarded. Ireland was deforested over many…Read more Why ancient tree knowledge in Ireland matters today: Blackstairs Ecotrails film and Ogham tree-teaching stone