Clonbur Woodland is a 300 hectare woodland on the shores of Lough Mask in Galway and Mayo, which has been restored under joint Coillte and EU LIFE funding in recent years, and it won the top award in the Biodiversity Category of the RDS Forest Service Awards 2012, at a recent ceremony. The judging panel commended the woodland and the RDS Committee of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Chairman, Mr Tom Cannon, said that “Coillte is deserving of recognition for the professional manner in which the area has been studied in detail, the high quality restoration work, and the extent to which the area has been opened to the public.”
Forest Manager, Frank Flanagan of Clonbur, with Joe Fenton (previous Site Manager), accepted the Award on behalf of their local community, colleagues, forestry contractors and all those who contributed to the restoration of the woods at Clonbur.
Gerard Murphy, Managing Director of Coillte Forest, who also attended the ceremony, commented that Coillte is very proud to receive the award. He also said that this rare woodland associated with limestone pavement on the shores of Lough Mask is just one of the environmental jewels on the Coillte estate.
A lot of work has been undertaken by the company at Clonbur Woodland, and the site plays a very important role in the lives of the communities living around Clonbur and Cong. Coillte welcomes visitors to the woodland to see for themselves the richness and diversity of the plant and animal communities here, with its network of walking trails, seating, signage, historic features and fantastic views.
This year’s RDS Forest Service Irish Forestry Awards presentation took place on Thursday 25th October. Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Forestry, Mr Shane McEntee T.D., presented the Awards at a ceremony held at Castletown House, Celbridge.
Chairman of Agriculture Committee, Mr Tom Cannon, Minister Shane McEntee TD, Gerard Murphy, Managing Director, Coillte Forest and Former President of the RDS Dr Austin Mescal
Further information on RDS-FS Forestry Awards at http://www.rds.ie/cat_project_detail.jsp?itemID=502
Source: Coillte – Coillte’s Clonbur Woodland Wins National RDS-Forest Service Award for Biodiversity
