Carndonagh forestry wins award at biodiversity and sustainability festival

A Carndonagh forestry has been named best production forestry at the RDS Irish Forest and Woodlands Awards. 

Ross Buchanan from Carndonagh won the Production Forestry Award which was presented at the Finding Common Ground  festival on biodiversity and sustainability which was held over two days at the RDS, Ballsbridge.

As part of the event, the RDS Irish Forest and Woodlands Awards, which aims to recognise excellence in the management of production forestry, also took place. 

Ross Buchanan's woodland is almost as far north as it is possible to go, and contains what is probably the most northerly oak stand being managed for quality timber on the island. The woodland is a diverse mixture of productive stands in an incredibly beautiful setting; which is being managed using a complex range of management styles and objectives.

The judges said: “Ross is finding unusual markets for some of his products – from using spruce brash for stream stabilisation to using wood chip for suppression of Japanese knotweed. He also has a large number of beehives in a clearing within one of his spruce crops. Ross and his family are committed to this land into the future and have very ambitious plans for tourism opportunities in the coming years.”

The inaugural Finding Common Ground Festival was delivered as one of the RDS Foundation social impact programmes. It incorporated presentations and panel discussions exploring how Ireland can harness the benefits of our natural resources and the circular economy with a view to creating increased awareness, education, and identification of solutions to act on.

RDS is a philanthropic organisation which aims to inspire, enable and empower positive change. The RDS Foundation delivers programmes, bursaries and activities on an all-island basis across five key areas including agriculture, the arts, enterprise, equestrianism, science and technology.