Ailish Creedon is planting a forest from scratch – and she needs your help
There was a time when most of the country was covered in trees.
These days, however, most of Ireland’s biodiverse woodlands have vanished and what’s left is dwindling.
If the landscape is to be restored, it’s going to take a mammoth effort; only 11 percent of the country is now covered in woodland and of this, only two percent of it is native.
Now one local woman has launched a campaign to re-wild a small piece of land in her own neck of the woods… and she’s hoping to raise €50,000 to make it happen.
Growing up in Crossbarry, Ailish Creedon always had a special affinity for flora and fauna:
“I have always been in love with our native trees, especially the birch as we had one in the garden that I would visit and climb every day,” she told Yay Cork.
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“In recent months I have been doing lots of travelling around Ireland and I can’t help but notice the lack of native trees and woodlands in our land. We have so many empty fields devoid of life and lots of spruce trees (mostly planted to be cut down.).
“We are in dire need of re-wilding in this country.”
‘The plan is to buy a site’
Ailish, who works as a part-time chocolatier in the city and also makes natural perfumes and facial oils through her own company Conscious Scents, which you can find at Cork farmers markets, decided to pour her feelings of powerlessness into a grand plan, a GoFundMe account for which went live this week.
“The plan is to buy a site in Cork, the location will be decided once we have reached around €30k through fundraising, I have an affinity for Clonakilty as I live nearby and there are not many native public woodlands locally,” said Ailish.
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“We will plant all the native trees, fungi, fauna, and flowers of Éire.
“The names of all those who donate and volunteer will be honoured on a plaque or possibly a monument in the forest. I will also commission local craftspeople for the making of benches and beehives. I vow that this land will forever remain protected, never to be sold, and will always be open to the public.
“The mission is to get people together working toward a common goal. It will take some time and dedication but I believe we can do this and inspire others to do the same,” she said.
“It is vital for our future to have more native forests, as they re-introduce wildlife to the area and are only beneficial to the planet. Whether this project happens now, or ten years in the future, it is worth the effort and I am committed and dedicating myself to it.”
If you would like to support Ailish on her mission to create a new forest in the Cork countryside, check out the fundraiser here.
