Arising from the very successful Native Woodland Conference held on April 30th and May 1st, 2018 at the Glenview Hotel, Delgany, Co. Wicklow, the interactive conference report: Twenty Years A-Growing was produced and is available to download complete with clickable links to presentation videos and associated PDF slides. There should be something there for everyone interested, especially those of you who could not make the conference. For those who did, but could not attend concurrent presentations – due to the requirement to host parallel sessions – you can access the presentations you missed. We hope you find them of interest. This post will give a synopsis of the conference with individual downloadable presentations from the sessions.
Opening Plenary Session
The Opening Plenary introduced delegates to a wide range of diverse perspectives from across the native woodland sector, including an academic, a landowner, a policymaker, a field ecologist, a forester and the opening address by the Government Minister with responsibility for Forestry. Click on the links below to download the presentation slides and to watch the videos.
- What are native woodlands for? A contested biological, cultural and economic space by Dr Daniel Kelly, Trinity College Dublin (Presentation / Video)
A landowner’s perspective of the Native Woodland Scheme by Katherine Stafford, Landowner (Presentation / Video)
- What are the challenges of managing native woodlands? by Dr Maria Long, Independent Ecologist (Presentation / Video)
- Ireland’s Native Woodland Strategy: Progress, critical mass and momentum by Kevin Collins, Dept Agriculture, Food & Forestry (Presentation / Video)
- Achieving our native woodland afforestation targets by John O’Reilly, Greenbelt (Presentation / Video)
Session One: Ecology
The first parallel session focused on the theme of ecology, with talks covering exciting research on Scots pine, and ecological aspects of woodland cryptogams, birds, mammals and soils. Click on the links below for presentation slides, videos and abstracts.
- The native status of Scots Pine in Ireland by Dr Alwynne McGeever, Trinity College Dublin (Presentation / Video)
- Hiding in plain sight: Ireland’s woodland cryptogamic botany by Maria Cullen, Independent Ecologist (Presentation / Video)
- Brackloon Wood – the past, present and future by Dr Declan little, former Woodlands of Ireland Manager (Presentation / Video)
- The great spotted woodpecker and bat habitat creation in Irish woodlands by Faith Wilson, Ecological Consultant (Presentation / Video)
Session Two: Silviculture and Classification
The second parallel session explored the topics of silviculture and native woodland classification, with talks on hedgerows, continuous cover and education. Click on the links below for presentation slides, videos and abstracts.
- The ‘What, where and why’ of native woodlands: a brief look at classification and character by Dr John Cross, ex-NPWS (Presentation / Video)
- Farm hedgerows: barriers and connectors by Dr Janice Fuller, Consultant Ecologist (Presentation / Video)
- Growing quality timber in native woodlands through Continuous Cover Forestry by Jonathan Spazzi, Teagasc (Presentation / Video)
- Silvicultural education in Ireland: Challenges and opportunities by Ian Short, Teagasc (Presentation / Video)
Session Three: Challenges
The third parallel session examined the various challenges facing the native woodland sector, from deer management to seeds and stock, climate change and disease. Click on the links below for presentation slides, videos and abstracts.
- Deer ecology and management in native woodlands by Dr Tim Burkitt (Presentation / Video)
- The All-Ireland Seed Saving Project by Debbie Gillies, True Harvest Seeds (Presentation / Video)
- Native woodlands stock: opportunities and challenges by Lar Behan, None-So-Hardy Nursery (Presentation / Video)
- Invasive species, climate change and diseases: the elephant in the forest – the UK experience! by Dr Keith Kirby, University of Oxford (Presentation / Video)
Session Four: Native Woods and Water
The fourth parallel session explored the topics of native woods and water, with talks on hedgerows, continuous cover and education. Click on the links below for presentation slides, videos and
abstracts.
- Woody riparian buffer: The potential for multiple ecosystem services provision by Dr Mary Kelly-Quinn, University College Dublin (Presentation / Video)
- EU Cost Action Woodlands and Water: Current initiatives and approach to PES and relevance to native woodlands by Dr Tom Nisbet, Forest Research (Presentation / Video)
- Natural Flood Management in Ireland and the potential role for woodlands by Nathy Gilligan, OPW (Presentation / Video)
- KerryLIFE adapting forestry policy for the freshwater pearl mussel by Richard O’Callaghan, KerryLIFE (Presentation / Video)
Closing Plenary Session
The Closing Plenary included an inspiring talk on the topic of rewilding, a personal reflection on 20 years of native woodlands, closing comments from Woodlands of Ireland’s Project Manager, Dr Declan Little, and a panel discussion during which the chairs of each session presented their highlights from the conference. Click on the links below for presentation slides, videos and abstracts.
- The restoration of Scotland’s Caledonian Forest and its relevance for Ireland by Alan Watson-Featherstone (Presentation / Video)
You can read each of the papers in full on our 2005 publication on the conference proceedings which is available in PDF format. Alternatively you can receive the proceedings on a compact disc format. If you prefer the CD format, please get in contact with Woodlands of Ireland at info@woodlandsofireland.com (Postage costs will be covered by the recipient). Woodlands of Ireland held a second conference in 2018 with the presentations available in video format. You can discover more about the proceedings and the conference overview.
are available for viewing on the website at the ‘Native Woodland Conference 2018’ tab on the Home Page (see http://www.woodlandsofireland.com/native-woodland-conference-2018).