Something exciting is happening. Our friends at the the Gaelic Woodland Project have developed a system to create a network of new native natural areas throughout Meath by utilising Council owned lands and reforestation grants known as the Communitree Initiative.
About the Initiative
The deforestation of Ireland is, in many ways, an inheritance. The felling of ancient forests comparable to the decline of the Irish language or centuries of emigration from Irish shores. We recognise that healing this wound on the land is not a burden, rather, it is an opportunity to pay homage to our ancestors and to gift our descendants. We are doing this by claiming stewardship of the island and sowing the seeds of an intergenerational reforestation project.
We want to establish a network of new woodlands across Meath by working at the community level. One day, we envision a green corridor that links Brú na Bóinne, Newgrange, Knowth, Hill of Slane, Slane Castle, Donaghmore, the Hill of Tara, the Spire of Llyod, Kells and Loughcrew.
This, ‘Wild Wooded Way’, is inspired by the Camino de Santiago in Spain, which attracts 300,000 visitors to Galacia a year and injects €58 million into the local economy annually. We believe this could be an environmental and heritage project that increases the touristic chain value of the midlands and reinvigorates indigenous tourism. Slow eco-tourism that celebrates Ireland’s Ancient East and her new wilderness.
About the Gaelic Woodland Foundation
We’re apolitical; this is about bees, trees and clean water. Our team is made up entirely of volunteers and
we want to achieve results quickly, which is why we’re reaching out to you. There is strength in community and with the right approach, we can achieve something remarkable.
Get Involved
If you're a Meath resident and interested in this particular initiative you can reach out to gaelicwoodlandproject@gmail.com and tell them your local town/village so they can check maps of council-owned land in your area. They will then
- Put you in contact with other like-minded people near your site.
- Provide a map of Council Lands in your area and organise Registered Foresters to visit the sites to see which ones are ‘dig-ready’: i.e. eligible for a grant.
- Considering social and environmental variables, choose the site for the new Communitree woodland.
- Organise a petition and fundraising events to get everyone excited and cement the community
group- they will help you in this process if you need it. This is a great opportunity to bring the
community back together after a long lock-down with craic, ceoil and damhsa.
- With an established community group and the dig-ready, they will submit an application to the
County Council on your behalf to turn the land into a new woodland utilising the Neighbourwood
Scheme Grant.
If you're excited by this, there are many more exciting opportunities within this basic structure to explore later on. In the meantime, they are trying to map Communitree hives to begin planning the route. Please contact the team at gaelicwoodlandproject@gmail.com to share your interest and they will get in contact
with you.
Learn more
The Gaelic Woodland Project is a vessel of people-powered reforestation. they’re networking with the International Irish Community to create a commemorative woodland in the Heart of Ireland: dedicated to Eiru, our ancestors and the Irish Diaspora. In the centre of the native woodland, they will place a standing stone in 2045 to mark the 200-year anniversary of the Great Famine. The stone will mark the lacuna left after two centuries of emigration and be the beacon that welcomes Ireland’s scattered generations home. Find out more at https://gaelicwoodlandproject.com/.
learn more about rewilding Ireland and get involved in our community.
