Forest Friends Ireland are encouraging communities and agencies all along the border to initiate tree plantings so that eventually there will be a great Peace Forest that all can be proud of, and that through tree planting projects communities on each side of the border will come to know each other better through community interaction.

Forest Friends Ireland have recommenced their internship program.  To be eligible for the program interns are required to be sponsored with regard to their accommodation, travel and insurance for the period of the internship. 

Interns are required to attend at the forest friends offices, located in Dublin City,  during normal office yours. Forest Friends will provide office accommodation, a supervised training program and work experience.  Interns are required to show a deep interest in the natural environment and in particular trees and forests. Participation in or  qualification in third level education or equivalent educational level or in practical environmental work would be an advantage.

A working knowledge of the English language is a requirement. Selection of prospective candidates will by made by the directors of Forest Friends or their nominee(s) Candidates. should submit an up to date CV and references with regard to relevant recent work and/or education.

Enquiries to John Haughton, Internship Program Manager, email info@forestfriends.ie

An ancient forest over 7500 years old has been uncovered on the North Galway coastline, reports Lorna Siggins of the Irish Times. The forest was exposed by the recent storms sweeping over the west coast of Ireland which stripped off layers of sand on the shoreline revealing the drowned forest.

The oak, pine and birch stumps are in their original position and hadn't fallen over. This leads Professor Mike Williams and Eamon Doyle, who are studying the find, to speculate that the trees died quite quickly, perhaps due to rapid sea level rise.

Up until 5,000 years ago Ireland experienced a series of rapid sea level rises. During the mid-Holocene period, oak and pine forests were flooded along the western seaboard and recycled into peat deposits of up to two metres thick, which were then covered by sand. Professor Williams estimates that sea level would have been at least five metres lower than present when the forests thrived, and traces of marine shell 50cm below the peat surface suggest the forest floor was affected by very occasional extreme wave events such as storm surges or tsunamis.

Professor Williams has also located tree stumps in south Mayo and Clare, along with Galway, which have been carbon dated to between 5,200 and 7,400 years ago at Queen’s University, Belfast. Some of the trees were nearly 100 years old when they perished.

With colleague Eamon Doyle, Professor Williams is due to publish a paper on the findings in the Irish Journal of Earth Sciences . The research was supported by the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark and the Geological Survey of Ireland.

Irish Times reported - March 14 2014