Coillte is encouraging the people of Westmeath enjoy their local forest over the winter months as 86% of survey respondents say forests are important for physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Westmeath’s top Coillte Forests for recreation include Carn Park Bog and Mullaghameen Forest.
Carn Park bog is a medium sized raised bog site located four kilometres north-east of Athlone. Carn Park bog is a good example of a raised bog habitat which are now very rare in Europe. It has recently been estimated that Ireland contains 50% of the relatively intact oceanic raised bog systems in Europe. Coillte have undertaken extensive works at Carn Park bog to restore the ecology and hydrology of this important habitat for future generations to enjoy. There are numerous track ways and trails for visitors to explore the bog.
A total of 81% of the Irish public believe Ireland needs to grow more trees to help combat climate change, according to a recent Red C Research survey commissioned by Coillte, the semi-state forestry company.
Furthermore, 86% of those surveyed agree that getting out into nature and exploring their local forest has a positive impact on their physical and mental wellbeing, while 82% believe forests are important for nature and biodiversity, which is central to Coillte’s strategic vision.
Of all respondents, 74% agree that having a mix of trees, such as conifers that grow quickly and capture carbon at a high rate, along with broadleaves that provide a long-term store of carbon, is important for climate action. In terms of tackling climate change, the majority surveyed (66% ) are in favour of using Irish wood as an alternative building material to high-carbon materials such as concrete and steel.
“At Coillte we recognise the importance of nature and forests in supporting our overall wellbeing and it’s encouraging to see that the majority of the Irish public agrees, as revealed in our recent survey. Westmeath has a range of beautiful Coillte forests for people to enjoy, including the beloved Mullaghameen Forest and Carn Park bog. We are encouraging people to explore their local Coillte forests over the coming months where possible, especially during the festive season, and spend time reconnecting with nature.”
The survey findings support Coillte’s forestry strategic vision which aims to deliver multiple benefits from its forests and bring more focus to climate action, with ambitious targets on biodiversity and recreation, while continuing to deliver for the forest and wood products industry. The focus of Coillte’s vision is on sustainably balancing and delivering the multiple benefits from Ireland’s state forests across four strategic pillars: Climate, Wood, Nature, and People.
Coillte’s forestry strategic vision, announced last year, is designed to optimise its contribution to Ireland’s climate targets, and includes a range of actions aiming to capture approximately 28m tonnes of CO2 in total from the environment by 2050.
Actions include:
Coillte aims to enable the creation of 100,000 hectares of new forests by 2050, half of which will be native woodlands, thereby enabling the sinking of 18m tonnes of CO2 by 2050.
Coillte will manage its existing forest estate to capture an additional 10m tonnes of CO2 by 2050;
Coillte plans to produce 25 million m3 of certified Irish timber, to support the construction of 300,000 new homes in Ireland by 2030. It will also promote the use and benefits of wood products to increase the level of timber homes from 20% to 80% by 2050;
Coillte intends to enhance and restore biodiversity by increasing the area of the forest estate being managed primarily for nature from 20% to 30% by 2025 and to 50% in the long term,
Coillte plans to enable the investment of €100 million to create world class visitor destinations to support growth in tourism and recreation by 2030. In addition, it will double the number of recreation areas nationally to 500, to benefit local communities and peoples’ wellbeing.
New strategic vision will be underpinned by Coillte’s commercially successful business and aims to enable the creation of 1,200 direct and indirect jobs in rural communities to support the just transition to a low carbon economy in Ireland.
