Carndonagh's Ross Buchanan wins Production Forestry Award at RDS Irish Forest and Woodlands Awards

Over two days last week, the RDS, Ballsbridge in Dublin hosted ‘Finding Common Ground’, a festival on biodiversity and sustainability.

As part of the event, the RDS Irish Forest and Woodlands Awards which aims to recognise excellence in the management of production forestry also took place.

Ross Buchanan from Carndonagh took home the Production Forestry Award.

Ross Buchanan's woodland is almost as far north as it is possible to go, and contains what is probably the most northerly oak stand being managed for quality timber on the island.

The woodland is a diverse mixture of productive stands in an incredibly beautiful setting; which is being managed using a complex range of management styles and objectives.

The Judges said “Ross is finding unusual markets for some of his products – from using spruce brash for stream stabilisation to using wood chip for suppression of Japanese knotweed. He also has a large number of beehives in a clearing within one of his spruce crops. Ross and his family are committed to this land into the future and have very ambitious plans for tourism opportunities in the coming years.”

The inaugural two-day event was delivered as one of the RDS Foundation social impact programmes. It incorporated presentations and panel discussions exploring how Ireland can harness the benefits of our natural resources and the circular economy with a view to creating increased awareness, education, and identification of solutions to act on.