Arriving back into Ireland at this time of year is exciting. I love the fresh, moist air and lately just can’t get enough of being out in it. The humidity of northern Queensland can be hard to take when you’re not used to it.
Yesterday I couldn’t resist the temptation to drop in to Inishconnell forest to see if anything is stirring yet after the onslaught of the thinning operations back in December.
All is quiet in the forest after the disruption of the thinning operations in December. There is a dusting of soft green as the broadleaves begin to leaf up.
I thought I could hear my Pro Silva Europe colleagues chuckling as I scrambled eagerly through the branches and brash, peering down to look for any sign of transformation. Those more experienced foresters, – by this I mean often third generation – don’t bother looking for regeneration after such a thinning. After so many years of experience, or from the experience of their wise university professors, – they know it will come. But for us here, – we are just learning. And for me, it is my first conifer forest to work at managing for transformation. So, while it’s not exactly doubt I feel, there is a strong element of wanting some reward for the bravery of charging in and making such dramatic change to my clients conifer stand.
Nature didn’t disappoint. There are tiny ash seedlings entering the forest in their thousands.
New life in the forest: - Ash seedling opening itself out to the light.
Inishconnell is bordered on three sides by native woodland, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that once the dark conifer forest canopy has been opened up, light is flooding in and seeds that have waited for many years are now taking full advantage. Yet I’m still amazed to see such delicate new seedlings making their way up through the tough, prickly brash that now litters the forest floor. Miracles happening before my eyes. Really wonderful.
Delicate ash seedlings weaving their way up to the light through this tangle of twigs and branches.
Ash is the dominant species to arrive in here. It is a real ash site. But I also noticed some hawthorn and holly coming in.
Hawthorn seedling enjoying a patch where there is more light.
Many of my old friends laugh at me now, remembering how I loathed those dark sitka spruce plantations and the resultant clearfell sites that follow in their wake. I guess my feelings haven’t really changed in that regard, but now I see the potential of sitka spruce plantations that never occurred to me when I started Crann way back in 1986. It took going to the launch of Pro Silva Ireland nine years ago and hearing Prof. Hans Jurgen Otto say how lucky we are to have ”these fine stands of pioneer forests” that made something shift under the ground of my being. Put simply: Hardwoods need shelter. Conifers give shelter. Bling! I got it.
And now it’s just great to be putting those nine years of learning into practice and yesterday I saw the first results.
The base of a sitka spruce, and its successor, - the mighty ash 
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Tags: ash seedlings, Inishconnell forest
[...] is taking root in other parts of the country, her latest post will give you an idea of all the seedlings, natural regeneration that happens after thinning) and many of them are making great strides in their different interests in wood. Friends & [...]
Hi Jan, Cathy Fitzgerald has pointed out your blog to me. I am with CELT environmental education NGO and trying to promote more native woodlands and also ideas like agroforestry / woodland gardens with native trees and organic produce – can be done on the smallest scale with fruit trees / shrubs in back yard, or on large scale incorporating coppice management and biomass production. I am continually badgering government for restructuring of Irish forestry to encourage these sort of things instead of the damaging plantation forest practices.
Pro Silva sounds good and interesting that there is some cooperation with Coillte.
Coillte here in East Clare have been very unhelpful when we have tried to find ways to work with them. We are surrounded by one-third of the landscape covered in their monoculture coniferous plantations with clear-fell and replanting the same and barely a few straggly native trees left along watercourses. To me it’s a disgrace – a rape of the land.
Anyway, I hope to get to meet you soon and talk more.
Hi Bob,
Thank you for your interest in my site. I hope you will avail of the free subscribe button and get all my posts as they are written.
I agree with you that a clearfell site is a sad picture. But being surrounded by 1/3rd of the landscape as forest cover could be a good thing. They can be seen as pioneer forests that can be worked with and transformed over time into something altogether different. Look on the PSI website for details of the next forest outing. It would be great if you would come along. Thanks for leaving your comment. All the best, – Jan