Woodlands of Ireland - A Millennium Initiative
Introduction
The Woodlands of Ireland group was established in 1998 to focus attention on Ireland's native woodland resource, especially as a new millennium was approaching, which provided a focus for a millennium woodland project. A number of organisations and individuals had been clamouring for such an initiative for some time and the Heritage Council, through the efforts of its former Chairperson, Freda Rountree - now sadly deceased - took responsibility for the project. In July 1997, a meeting of all interested parties was held in the Heritage Council offices in Kilkenny and arising from it, an ad hoc Steering Committee representing a broad range of relevant organisations was established. This group included representatives of all shades of interest and elected a Steering Group to advance the concept. The consensus arrived at was that concerted action was needed to highlight the importance of native woodlands and to secure their long-term sustainability. The function of the Steering group is to provide overall guidance to the project and ensure societal relevance. A Technical Advisory group was also established to ensure that whatever woodland project proposals were conceived, they would have a sound scientific and ecological base.
