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PUTTING PEOPLE AT THE HEART OF CONSERVATION SINCE 1989

ANNUAL REPORT – JUST FORESTS 2013

THE NEXUS WATER WOOD WILDLIFE PEOPLE

Just Forests mission related achievements for 2013

Putting people at the heart of conservation since 1989

The King Oak tree in Charleville Forest Estate, Tullamore, Co Offaly, came third in the European Tree of the Year 2013 Contest.

The King Oak tree was nominated by Just Forests



About our organisation

Putting People at the Heart of Conservation- because people matter...

Our Vision: Just Forests believes in a world where all people will have access to natural resources as a means to improving their quality of life.

Our Identity: Just Forests is an Irish Charity committed to responsible management and conservation of the world’s forests as a means of protecting biological diversity and alleviating poverty.

Our Values: Human values are at the heart of our work with a particular focus on the following:

• Justice for the world’s forests and those that rely on them for their livelihood,

• Stewardship as an act of responsible forest management

• Citizenship whereby we engage in responsible consumption and recognition of the interdependence of all the world’s people

In summary…

Who: A small Irish non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1989.

What: We highlight the importance of natural resources to our development using water, wood, wildlife and forests as hooks

Where: We work all over Ireland delivering development education (DE) and education for sustainable development (ESD) projects based on our Wood of Life exhibition and associated education resources.

With: We work with primary, post-primary, third level practitioners as well as community and adult learning groups



A bridge too far…just a reminder…!

In January of 2013, work commenced on the construction of 3 new bridges over the Grand Canal in Tullamore. Just Forests peacefully reminded Offaly Co Council that they were in violation of their own ‘responsible timber policy’ by using furniture-grade African iroko (chlorophora excelsa) to temporarily dam a section of the canal.

The Council’s own timber procurement policy (which Just Forests introduced to them in 2001) gives preference to Irish-grown timber in local construction works when appropriate or failing that certified timber should be used.

On this occasion Irish timber would have been most suitable. Also the iroko used was not independently certified as coming from responsibly managed forests.

In summary…

Why we did it… the unnecessary use of tropical timber in construction projects in Ireland is contributing to deforestation, illegal logging, climate change, poverty and loss of biological diversity.



Our Mission:

Standing forests should be more valuable than cleared forests.

Stewardship of forests natural resources and services (by practicing sustainable forestry) should be more profitable than clear-cutting a rainforest.

Preserving wetlands, grasslands and coral reefs should provide far more long-term benefits to society than parking lots, corn ethanol or new coastal shipping lanes for coal or iron ore carriers.

At Just Forests, we endeavor to change the economic mindset that fails to value natural ecosystems and ultimately results in nature being wasted or consumed by inefficient development.

Creating economic value in our natural ecosystems is one of the most powerful motivators for sustaining them.

Once we start thinking about ecosystems as assets, environmental sustainability can become part of the economic fabric of society.

A long time coming! Just Forests worked with numerous European NGO’s for many years to have the EUTR introduced. We also made two presentations in person to two Dail Committees on the impacts of illegal logging.

New EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) became law on 3rd March, 2013. This bans the placing of illegal timber and certain listed wood products on the EU market and puts an obligation of due diligence on the operators who imports them.



Development and Intercultural Education within Initial Teacher Education (D.I.C.E.)

The D.I.C.E. Project hosted Just Forests Wood of Life exhibition at five Colleges of Education during January and February 2013 and included:

• Froebel College of Education • Church of Ireland College of Education • St. Patrick’s College • Marino Institute of Education and • Mary Immaculate College in Limerick.

We also provided a number of interactive workshops with trainee teachers.

Why? Just Forests relies on teachers to embed a development education perspective on the significance of natural resources and environmental services to society (using wood as the hook) in their everyday teaching practice. We see the formal and non-formal education systems as a vehicle to having our mission planted firmly in teacher education.



“We had been discussing how to link content and language for English language learners and the importance of visuals when supporting language use. The Wood of Life was an opportunity for the students to see how the teacher could use a topic to make cross-curricular links while also developing language and literacy skills. The large scale posters were a good example of how to use visual graphics to develop higher order thinking skills, for example: de-forestation (cause and effect), species of trees/timber (compare and contrast).” Therese McPhillips, B Ed 3 Elective, 'Literacy for English Language Learners', St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra

“We take a very practical hands-on approach to learning. From this practical and critical engagement, the information from the Just Forest Exhibition might mean even more to the children. The exhibition itself opens up direct links to the Geography, Music, Religion and Science curricula. The panels offer statistics, which can support Maths development. Exploring trees in the vicinity of the school opens up possibilities for visual arts and creative writing. Without any effort on the teacher's part the exhibition involves children in cross-curricular learning. “ Theresa Hegarty, DICE Lecturer, Froebel College, Dublin



Working with others during 2013.

Just Forests always welcomes the opportunity to engage with other groups and festivals. This can be a great way of getting our message to a new sector that may yet not be too familiar with our work. During 2013 we travelled to a number of venues around the country and included:

• Afri’s Feile Bride, Co Kildare • St. Patrick’s Seminary, Co Wicklow • NUI Galway • Development Perspectives, Co Louth • Seomras Sproi, Dublin City

February 2013 Photos at Afri’s Feili Bride Festival 2013

• Participants at Afri’s Feile Bride view

some of the Wood of Life panels. • Afri’s Joe Murray plants a tree on the

grounds of The National Stud to commemorate the event

• Participants listen to a talk by Dr. John Feehan



July 2013 St. Patrick’s Missionary Society, Kiltegan, Co Wicklow. Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Workshop Just Forests were delighted to present our mission to the members of the JPIC group at St. Patrick’s and to hear about the issues they are and have been involved in. “Between St. Patrick and Brigid, there was so great a friendship of charity that they had but one heart and one mind.”

Why? Because we believe that natural resources must be cherished. We also believe there is great spiritual healing/links to the natural world.



April 2013 Development Perspective (DP) Saturday April 6th, 2013:

EIL Intercultural Learning - Furniture restoration with development education perspective.

Venue: Seomras Sproi, 10 Belvedere Court, Dublin 1.

Why?

Wood is a part of our daily life; we use and discard so much wood. The workshop introduced the participants on how to reuse some of this wood, how to integrate a more sustainable way of living in their daily life.



The Change Makers project in Carndonagh, Co Donegal, hosted Just Forests Wood of Life exhibition at three venues on the Inishowen Peninsula - Moville, Carndonagh and Buncrana. Over 400 pupils visited the exhibition and interacted with the Wood of Life exhibition by means of activity sheets and follow-on classroom project sheets. Why? The Change Makers project in Carndonagh, Co Donegal, is a new project with the aim of raising awareness of how local issues are linked to global issues and to explore how we are all interconnected. This project goes right to the heart of Just Forests mission - linking the Local and the Global.

Wood of Life exhibition goes north…

February 2013 The Wood of Life exhibition visited Buncrana, Moville and Carndonagh in Co Donegal during 2013.

Over four hundred pupils along with their teachers interacted with the exhibition. Photos: Pupils and teachers from the Inishowen Peninsula interact with the Wood of Life exhibition.



… and west to Letterfrack in Co Galway

GMIT Letterfrack-the National Furniture College and Just Forests working together.

For the past 12 years Just Forests has made presentations and provided workshops on responsible timber sourcing to students of furniture design at GMIT Letterfrack.

Why?

Because GMIT Letterfrack students are going to be the next generation of furniture makers in the industry as employers or employees and working with them ensures our mission will be carried forward.

March 2013.

Above: Dr. Dermot O’Donovan, head of department, GMIT Letterfrack and Tom Roche renew a partnership agreement.

Right: Students at GMIT Letterfrack listen to one of their classmates playing the first FSC certified acoustic guitar in Ireland during Just Forests annual workshop on responsible timber sourcing. Below: Letter outlining what we will do over the coming years.



Just Forests nominated the King OAK tree in Tullamore to represent Ireland in the European Tree of the Year 2013 Contest (ETY 2013). Our nomination was accepted by the coordinating body – the Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation

Just Forests nomination - the King OAK tree in Tullamore came third in the ETY 2013 Contest

with over 5800 votes.

So tie a yellow ribbon… Ireland’s entry in the ETY 2013 takes 3rd place

Voting in the ETY 2013 Voting commenced on 1st February and continued for the whole month. The winners were announced at the awards ceremony in Brussels on 5th June 2013. The contest enjoys the highest EU support and is organised under the patronage of Mr Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for the Environment and Mr Pavel Poc, Member of the European Parliament.



Presentation of Awards Mr Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for the Environment welcomes everyone to the ETY 2013 Awards Ceremony. Tom Roche of Just Forests accepts the certificate for 3rd place at the awards ceremony in European Parliament ASP Building in Brussels. Representatives from Poland, Hungary and Ireland receive their certificates at the awards ceremony in the European Parliament ASP Building in Brussels in June 2013.



3WATER Project: On day 2 of the ETY 2013 ceremony participants were taken on a trip to an EU LIFE-funded water/wildlife management project about 60 km outside Brussels.

Why did we do it? Just Forests grasps any and every opportunity to engage the Irish public with our mission and programme of work to create awareness of the importance of trees and wood to society. We recognised the potential of the ETY 2013 Contest in raising the profile of Just Forests mission not just here in Ireland but EU-wise. As a result of our engagement Just Forests mission is now better recognised and accepted here in Ireland and further afield. The organisers of ETY 2013 also felt it would be good to have an entry from Ireland seeing as Ireland was hosting the Presidency of the European Union from January to June 2013.



In July 2013, Just Forests teamed up with We Forest to give the people of Ireland an opportunity to COOL THE EARTH. Through the 'Now yer suckin carbon' initiative we aim to turn the negative implications of Ireland's dependence on imported timber on its head, by encouraging people to take positive action and help increase Ireland's forest cover and protect an area of rainforest equivalent to the size of our beloved Phoenix Park in Dublin-the largest city-centered park in Europe.

The thinking behind this project title The Irish people have a very peculiar sense of humour. Back in the 60's, 70’s and 80’s there was a very popular saying goin' round that could be heard in every town and village the length and breadth of Ireland that went like this “now yer suckin' diesel”.

It was an endorsement, a sort of affirmation of what you were doing and it was said with the greatest of good will and intention. What it actually meant was: I like what you are doing.

If someone was doing a great job or doing the right thing, it would not be unusual to hear someone say “now yer suckin' diesel” - it was always said with a change of voice/tone-in a jovial, affirmative manner.

The Now yer suckin carbon project will have great appeal to the Irish psyche...because ending poverty starts with tree planting... and it is a great way to give back what Ireland has taken from tropical countries over the past 250 years.

Good intentions (past) = "Now yer suckin' diesel" Planting TREES (present/future) = "Now yer suckin' carbon"

DOCHAS- The Association of Non-Governmental Development Organisations and Development Perspectives (DE) have already contributed to this initiative as a way of offsetting their travel-related carbon emissions by planting trees.

Now yer suckin’ carbon… …providing a means of cooling the Earth one tree at a time!



During 2013, Just Forests took advantage of some Irish Government calls for public submissions.

We use these opportunities to try to influence REAL change when the policies in question are appropriate to our mission.

• The matter of the failure by Ireland to implement the EUTR was recently raised in the Irish Parliament, following work by ClientEarth and Irish development education NGO Just Forests.

• Just Forests submissions to inform the development of a National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development in Ireland

• Just Forests Climate Bill submission

• Just Forests submission to the consultation process on the Draft Strategy Statement 2014-‐2016 of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI).

All of Just Forests submission over the years can be downloaded from our website at this link: http://www.justforests.org/public-‐submissions

Public submissions



Back to Tullamore Tullamore & Banagher Colleges Workshop Offaly V.E.C., hosts development education (DE) workshops in Tullamore

December 2013

Tullamore College in association with Banagher College and Self Help Africa organised a series of development education (DE) workshops in the Court Hotel, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

Just Forests was delighted to have been part of this excellent event and setup a number of their Wood of Life exhibition panels as a backdrop to the day's events.

Over 80 students took part in a series of workshops that explored our relationship with global issues of poverty, climate change and resource sustainability.



The giant grey poplar tree in Birr Castle Demesne, Co Offaly. This tree

was Ireland’s entry in the European Tree of the Year 2014 Contest. Just Forests nominated the tree.



Website: www.justforests.org

Chico Mendes was a great Brazilian labour and community activist who environmentalists tend to remember as being motivated by his love of nature. In truth he had more basic concerns: helping miserably poor people eke out a better living in the forest. He was murdered by violent landlords - the local aristocracy - for his work. New York Times reporter, Andrew Revkin observed in his book, the Burning Season, that, “His demands were for schools and jobs and health care, hardly a green agenda. This overlap with environmental preservation brought the union man to the attention of conservationists who shared his goal of preserving the rainforest, but for far different reasons.” Andrew Revkin, New York Times reporter

Copyright Just Forests – February 2014

Produced by Just Forests, 113 Arden Vale, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, Ireland.

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