Feakle Community Hall, Feakle, Co.Clare
Day of events in memory of Andrew St. Ledger
4 May 2025
National Tree Week 2025
Making Us Reflect on How We Understand Ourselves
The following aims to summarise the mass of content shared amongst participants over our near 7 hours at both venues: the former a “Designed Landscape” dating from 1704, the latter an “Ancient Residual Post-Glacial Woodland” both venues situated in the Upper Lee Basin, Co. Cork.
Wednesday, the 30th of October 2024, 19:00
White Pine Management
The Menominee people (located in Wisconsin, US) are known for their forest and sustainable practices. One of the species that has a substantial presence on the forest is Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus). While the rest of the state of Wisconsin was cut over in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, only dying and dead trees were harvested on the Menominee Forest. In 1973 the Menominee gained the ability to manage their forest without the direct oversight of the government.
Now things are harvested a little differently, with sustainability and natural regeneration a priority. The white pine that was once young seedlings, saplings, and poles during the cut over times, are now mature and towering adults. Much of this pine is at an age where management decisions will have to be made in order to guarantee regeneration or transition to a different forest type. All the while maintaining a resource for the tribal members to use.
Please join as we discuss white pine management, the history of white pine, current and traditional uses, and the latest challenges we face as keepers of the forest.
We plan to cover the history of pine in Wisconsin and on the reservation. We hope to discuss fire use back then and now, the nature of pine since it needs a lot of sunlight, our different treatments of pine, which depend on soil and age, including shelterwoods/seedtrees, even age thin, pine release, clearcut natural regeneration with pine release, pine barrens/savanna, single tree selection with super canopy. These different treatment provide many forest products at different stages, which is available to tribal members.
At the end of the talk, we will have a Q&A to discuss any questions that might arise during the talk.
Ron Waukau: I am an enrolled member of the Menominee Nation, and have lived my whole live on the reservation. I began my long career at Menominee Tribal Enterprises in 1988. Over the decades, positions I have served include Timber Marker, Lead Timber Marker, Fuels Specialist, Interim Fire management Officer, Inventory Forest Technician, and currently Forest Manager. Working in a variety of positions within different departments allowed me to gain experience across the whole of Forestry and rapport with staff.
I did not pursue secondary education, however I have learned so much with my opportunity to work on the forest, and learned things that could never be taught in the classroom. I now use these lessons to manage the forest as well as maintain a good relationship with my staff who are integral to the forest process.
Outside of work, I find myself returning to the forest where I enjoy hunting, fishing, and gathering.
McKaylee Duquain: I am an enrolled member of the Menominee Nation, and I was raised on the reservation until I left to further my education. Upon completing my undergraduate degree, I returned home to work on my forest. I began working with Menominee Tribal Enterprises on a Continuous Forest Inventory Project, which transitioned into a permanent Inventory Forester position. With a desire to continue my education and experience, I left home once again to pursue graduate school. After being away from home for two years paired with a pandemic, I jumped at the first opportunity to return home to work on my forest again. This brings me to my current position, which I was formerly supervised by, head of Inventory within the Forestry Department at Menominee Tribal Enterprises.
Aside from my work at forestry, I still spend a lot of time outdoors, including a lot of camping and hiking. When the season is right, I enjoy foraging for various plants and mushrooms. I also am a basket weaver and harvest black ash trees to process the materials for baskets, though that tradition is being threatened by the emerald ash borer. I love to travel when I get the opportunity, but at the end of the day it feels so good to be home.
The exchange for this online talk is 15€.
Booking your spot is essential.
You can book your spot here: https://buytickets.at/thewoodlandleague/1445600
People who have booked in will receive an email with the login details on the day of the talk.
Should you book in and not be able to join the live event, we will send you the recording of the talk, that will be available for another week.
We will use the funds for all the running Woodland League projects.
You can find out more here: https://www.woodlandleague.org/
We are looking forward to this online talk and all the knowledge it brings.
See you there.
24 August 2024
Forestry Promotion Project
The Woodland League Forestry Promotion Project was designed by Andrew St Ledger prior to his untimely passing in 2023. Andrew invested many years contributing to forestry policy especially in the area of agroforestry. The Forestry Promotion Projects are funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) under the Forestry Programme 2023-27. This funding has provided significant opportunities to forestry organisations, individual foresters and people interested in the sector to develop their own initiatives for promoting forestry.
11 August 2024
Book Review: Eoghan Daltun – An Irish Atlantic Rainforest
A Personal Journey into the Magic of Rewilding
Part memoir and part call to arms. Daltun bought a farm on the Beara peninsula, in the far southwest of Ireland. He dug out the rhododendrons, fenced off the sheep and feral goats, and watched nature take the land back. Soon a rich ecosystem emerged.
This review captures the essence of Daltun’s journey and the profound realization that drives his work: the need to reconnect with and protect the natural world. By purchasing a farm on the Beara Peninsula and allowing the land to revert to its natural state, Daltun has demonstrated how ecosystems can flourish when given the space and time to recover. The transformation of his land into a thriving temperate rainforest, a rare and endangered ecosystem in Ireland, serves as both a personal victory and a broader commentary on conservation.
Ireland’s natural habitat is rainforest — of the temperate rather than the tropical kind. But so little of it is left, and that little is under threat. We bemoan the destruction of the Amazon but fail to realise what has been done in our own backyard.
30 July 2024
Woodland League Community of Content Creators
Dear Content Creators,
We are thrilled to announce an exciting opportunity for writers, photographers, videographers, and artists to contribute to our upcoming special edition dedicated to the beauty, complexity, and importance of native woodlands.
29 July 2024
Woodland Events, Autumn 2024
22 July 2024
The Woodland of Ireland by Diana Beresford-Kroeger
The ancient forests of Ireland were composed of a unique mixture of tree species. A few evergreens
coexisted with many spectacular deciduous trees. These covered the valleys but covered the tops of the
mountains, too. They were able to exist there by means of the constant warm rain and weathering of rock
systems that provided an almost endless sandy terrain filled with mobile nutrients.
22 July 2024
Soul and Science of Ireland’s Hedgerows by Ted Cook
Biodiversity Week Event, Kilmichael, Co. Cork – Sunday May 19th 2024
Ever wondered about the magic that lies within Ireland’s hedgerows? Ted Cook takes you on a captivating journey through these lush, green corridors. It’s not just about the plants; it’s about the history, the wildlife, and the intricate balance of nature that makes these hedgerows so special.
28 June 2024
Mother Tree Day by Ted Cook
National Tree Week & Mother’s Day at Kilcolman, Enniskeane, Co. Cork – Sunday March 10th
The Environmental Forum’s Coordinator, Bernie Connolly, proposed a “Crinniú” to commemorate the Good Lives of Andrew St. Ledger and Michael Ewing. Sunday March 10th was chosen which coincided with both International Mothers Day and Tree Week, Andrew being synonymous with the Woodland League and Michael with the Irish Environmental Forum.