DAFM to hold breakfast briefing on Woodland Environmental Fund

The deadline to RSVP is Friday, November 15.

The Woodland Environmental Fund (WEF) is a scheme for businesses in Ireland to part-fund the creation of native woodlands in Ireland through partnership with landowners and the state.

Landscape

23 October 2019

The Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) is to hold a breakfast briefing event at the Science Gallery in Trinity College Dublin, on Thursday, November 28, from 8am to 9.45am, for businesses who are interested in supporting the establishment of native woodlands in Ireland, and learning about the Woodland Environmental Fund (WEF).

The invitation comes following the announcement by Minister of State at DAFM, Andrew Doyle, of An Post being the first company to participate in the department’s WEF.

What is WEF

WEF is a scheme from DAFM which aims to promote higher levels of native woodland establishment in order to capture carbon and create habitats rich in biodiversity.

The initiative provides a shared platform for government, the business community, and landowners to work together to help meet planting targets set out in the Climate Action Plan (CAP).

Under the WEF programme, businesses can be associated with individual native woodlands and use the environmental benefits linked to these forests to demonstrate their sustainability credentials.

“Businesses in Ireland are seeking solutions to meet expanding climate, biodiversity, and sustainability commitments, whilst also supporting national objectives.”, said Minister Doyle.

Minister Doyle continued: “The main national objective is of course the planting of some 250 million trees as part of the government’s Climate Action Plan. The creation of new native woodlands is of growing interest given the rich environmental dividend they deliver.

“I want to congratulate An Post for choosing such a worthwhile project in which to invest. I am delighted to report that interest in the WEF programme is continuing to grow across business sectors.”

The initiative supported by An Post in particular, is a site in County Galway, which involved the planting of some 25,000 native oak, alder, and birch trees this year.

“My Department would like to invite businesses interested in supporting the establishment of native woodlands to a breakfast briefing event in Trinity College on the 28^th November 2019. This will be an opportunity to learn more about the WEF and to hear first-hand about the experiences of An Post in developing a native woodland. My Department will be available on the day to guide companies on how to become involved.”, said Minister Doyle.

Minister of State for Community Development, Natural Resources and Digital Development, Sean Canney, said: “An Post couldn’t have picked a better location for the first WEF forest than this site in County Galway. The (sic) WEF is a creative solution that will help address the dual challenges of our time – climate change and falling biodiversity – and I would encourage other Irish businesses to consider it.”

Businesses interested in attending the breakfast briefing and learning more about WEF can RSVP to wef@agriculture.gov.ie by Friday, November, 15 2019.