Fwd: Woodland League Solstice, Xma Dear All, The Woodland League wish all of our supporters a happy Solstice, yuletide and New Year, Nollaig Shona Agaibh !! It has been an interesting year of building upon our ongoing work, mainly alerting the public to the value of our Native Woodlands, through projects, tree planting, woodland walks/ talks, school visits and some media articles. We have also been building up our network of supporters. A big Thank You, to All who contribute, have contributed and supported us over the years, we appreciate these efforts. A famous Tree poem sent to us by Edith George, a heritage tree specialist in Canada, it is on a tree in a park in Portugal, at Castelo de Sao Jorge. To the person who passes through this place You that pass and raise your arm to me before you hurt me, look at me well. I am the heat of your home in the cold winter nights. I am the friendly shade that you find when walking under the August sun And my fruits are appetizing freshness That satisfy your thirst on the way. I am the friendly beam of your house, the board of your table the bed in which you rest and the wood of your boat. I am handle of your hoe, the door of your dwelling the wood of your cradle and of your own coffin. I am the bread of goodness and the flower of beauty. You that pass, look at me well and do no harm. Veiga Simões, Arganil, Maio de 1914 Veiga Simões was a brilliant Portuguese politician, diplomat, writer and journalist. Regards the sale of our public forests campaign, it has been quiet on that front but as we have continually highlighted, Coillte continue to sell off public forest assets, by stealth, to IFORUT, a pension fund company in which Coillte are a partner, with Allied Irish Bank and Bank of Ireland, hardly what you could call safe hands ! The problems caused by overharvesting by clearfelling and use of herbicides and fertilisers and over dependence on non native conifers continue to blight our countryside. There were also causes for celebration, starting with, the Tuamgraney Community Native Woodland project whom we partner with, CELT ( Centre for Environmental Living and Training ) and the TDA ( Tuamgraney Development Association ). The project was awarded a runner up prize in the All Ireland Pride of Place awards in November, in the Eco Community Initiative. Quite an achievement for a small project which is run on a voluntary basis, with meagre funding, and a welcome recognition for all the volunteers hard work over many years. The prize was 500 euros which will be invested in signage for the woodland. The second celebratory event was the inaugural Woodland League AGM on November 30th, which followed on from the incorporation of the Woodland League, as a Not for Profit company in September. This has been on the cards for a number of years and we finally got it together, after a few false starts and good intentions, we hope it will enable us to expand our aims and objectives in a more effective way. May we wear this new outfit well and continue to be guided by our grounding origins and focus. We are now in a position to seek ethical funding, and already have secured a small amount of funding to deliver a digital mobile classroom, basic tree/woodland education module, via the internet in the new year. May we continue to spread our message to as wide an audience as possible to assist in the achieving of out three main aims, contained within the three R,s, The Regeneration of the Great Forests of Ireland, Restoration of the Forest Culture, and Reform of current Forestry policy. Part of the necessity to incorporate the League was to prepare for the potential global exposure promised by our work being featured in Diana Beresford Kroegers documentary film. The film will be released next year all going well and the work of the League will receive a big boost regards our profile and plans for which we may be able to obtain global funding support. She and the crew spent a week here in 2013 filming and she focused a lot on our work via interviews and visits to The Great Forest of Aughty oak wood remnant sites. She is also interviewed sitting with the Boru oak which she describes as her favourite tree in the world, firmly placing a focus on Ireland. As she said herself Ireland is in her heart and remains her homeland. We are grateful that this extraordinary woman, Diana Beresford Kroeger, is our consultant scientist and mentor at this interesting period in time. The objective of the film is to encourage a global reforestation of native woodlands by the people for the people, to harvest the multiple benefits which occur on many levels. theecologist.org/how_to_make_a_difference/climate_change_and_energy/841418/diana_beresfordkroeger_the_w We will inform you all of these and other developments as they unfold in the new year. We will leave you with this quote from the author of a wonderful new book, Manuel Lima, The book of Trees, visualizing Branches of Knowledge. In a time when more than half of the worlds population live in cities, surrounded on a daily basis by asphalt, cement, iron, and glass, its hard to conceive of a time when trees were of immense and tangible significance to our existence. But for thousands and thousands of years, trees have provided us with not only shelter, protection, and food, but also seemingly limitless resources for medicine, fire, energy, weaponry, tool building, and construction. Its only normal that human beings, observing their intricate branching schemas and the seasonal withering and revival of their foliage, would see trees as powerful images of growth, decay, and resurrection. In fact, trees have had such an immense significance to humans that theres hardly any culture that hasnt invested them with lofty symbolism and, in many cases, with celestial and religious power. The veneration of trees, known as dendrolatry, is tied to ideas of fertility, immortality, and rebirth and often is expressed by the axis mundi (world axis), world tree, or arbor vitae (tree of life). These motifs, common in mythology and folklore from around the globe, have held cultural and religious significance for social groups throughout history – and indeed still do. [...] The omnipresence of these symbols reveals an inherently human connection and fascination with trees that traverse time and space and go well beyond religious devotion. This fascination has seized philosophers, scientists, and artists, who were drawn equally by the trees inscrutabilities and its raw, forthright, and resilient beauty. Trees have a remarkably evocative and expressive quality that makes them conducive to all types of depiction. They are easily drawn by children and beginning painters, but they also have been the main subjects of renowned artists throughout the ages. Best Wishes from All at The Woodland League Link to a recent Irish Times article below. irishtimes/life-and-style/people/jurassic-bark-ancient-irish-trees-brought-back-to-life-1.1971695 Links below to Ted Cook events during heritage week in 2014 corkcoco.ie/co/pdf/187157834.pdf corkcoco.ie/co/pdf/812278059.pd corkcoco.ie/co/pdf/640493187.pdf corkcoco.ie/co/pdf/135618059.pdf Attachments below to a picture and article related to a woodland walk with a womens group from Nenagh, co Tipperary, printed in the Tipperaray Guardian newspaper during the summer. -- thewoodlandleague@gmail woodlandleague.org/ facebook/pages/The-Woodland-League/198560882580 less printing = less paper = more trees = forests © 2014 Microsoft Terms Privacy & cookies Developers English (United States)
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 12:32:12 +0000