Woodlands of Ireland sponsor “Native Woodland Conservation Award”
A new category “Native Woodland Conservation Award” has been introduced to the RDS Irish Forest and Woodland Awards for 2024. The “Native Woodland Conservation Award” aims to recognise excellence in the conservation and management of native forests and semi-natural woodlands which are regarded as ancient or long established* and managed in a sustainable way that is both beneficial to biodiversity and the local economy. Woodlands of Ireland are sponsoring this category for 2024.
The Irish Forest and Woodland Awards
The Irish Forest and Woodland Awards recognise and reward farmers and woodland owners that have adopted Climate-Smart Agricultural practices on their properties. These practices include sound commercial management, environmental protection, and biodiversity. The twin goals of promoting the economic and environmental benefits of good forestry and farming are fundamental to what the RDS hopes to achieve through its agriculture and rural affairs programme.
Categories
There were four categories in the Irish Forest and Woodland Awards 2024:
- Production Forestry Award
- Teagasc Farm Forestry Award
- Community Woodland Award
- New category: Native Woodland Conservation Award
Prizes
- The winner in each of the categories will receive €2,000 and an RDS Silver Medal.
- Category winners will also receive a specially commissioned trophy.
- The runner-up in each category will receive €1,000 and an RDS Certificate of Merit.
Winners
The 2024 Irish Forest and Woodland Awards winners were presented as part of the RDS Spring Awards in the RDS Concert Hall in May 2024.
The shortlisted entries for the Native Woodland Conservation Award 2024 were:
- Altidore estate, Co. Wicklow
- Coill an Fhaltaigh woodland, Co. Kilkenny
- Myross Wood, Co. Cork
- Slane Castle Estate, Co. Meath
The Winner of the Native Woodland Conservation Award 2024 was awarded to Coill an Fhaltaigh woodland in Co. Kilkenny.
This is a Millennium woodland, managed by local Coillte manager, Eoin Wemyss. This is a fantastic example of how woodland can be resilient and bounce back from a previous life. The area had been an oak woodland until the
1950’s when it was felled and replaced with a crop of Norway spruce.
The spruce crop was then felled in the late 1990’s at a time when there was an increasing interest in putting together a major National woodland project to celebrate the upcoming Millennium. The area was subsequently planted with a range of species and is now the largest and most accessible of our National Millennium Forests.
Second place and runner up in the Native Woodland Conservation Award was awarded to Slane Castle Estate, Co. Meath.
The work undertaken on the woodland in Slane Castle by Henry Conyngham of Slane Castle and Joe Codd (Veon) who manages the estate is a great example of not taking the easy route in woodland conservation. The woodland around Slane Castle has had a huge laurel problem in the past.
The owners, in conjunction with Joe in Veon, have decided that they are taking an organic approach to this laurel management and have decided that they are not using herbicides for its control. Another difficulty facing the owners is deer damage and, although the area is used by the public a lot, deer damage is kept under control through a combination of culling and tall shelters. Regeneration of oak and other species (the woodland contains quite a bit of elm) is coming back and these, in turn, are protected by shelters.
In addition to the prizes of first and second for the Native Woodland Conservation Category, the judges decided on a special merit award which was presented to Myross woodland near Skibbereen in County Cork. The oak woodland is managed by Mark Robins and his team of volunteers.
For more information on other category winners, click through to RDS Forestry Awards. The 2025 RDS Forest and Woodland awards calls for entries are now open, who will the 2025 Native Woodland Conservation Award winner be? The application forms are available to download on the RDS website: www.rds.ie/agriculture/forestry or via email from Forestry@rds.ie
Who are Woodlands of Ireland
Woodlands of Ireland are a not-for-profit charity dedicated to the conservation and expansion of native semi-natural woodlands. It is an inclusive organisation whose primary objectives are to generate awareness of native woodlands amongst policy makers and the general public and to develop projects and sustainable management strategies aimed at ensuring the future viability of native woodlands. Woodlands of Ireland are funded by National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Heritage Council and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.