11 October 2022
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
This week sees the beginning of substantial work to restore one of West Cork’s best examples of a natural oak woodland. Myross Wood in Leap, Co. Cork, that surrounds the Centre of Excellence for Climate Action and Sustainability (CECAS.IE) run by Green Skibbereen will see real restoration work start this Wednesday 12th October.
Specialist tree contractors will begin to remove invasive Cherry Laurel – a shrub that chokes the life out of native woodlands and clear fallen and dangerous trees from the famous ‘Tunnel’ entrance route into Myross Wood House – as the first step to opening up a new walking route.
Mark Robins, one of the coordinators of the project said:
This will be so exciting, restoring our native woodlands, a powerful way to rebuild our lost biodiversity, begins now at Myross House Woods.
There’s going to be many challenges along the way but today we start a new era for these special and historic woodlands.
A new ‘Friends of Myross Woods’ group of volunteers have been beavering away at restoration tasks over the last year but these professional contractors will start the heavy work ahead.
This restoration project is one under the umbrella of Green Skibbereen’s CECAS which is based at Myross Wood House and is supported by the Dept for Agriculture, Food and the Marine via their Woodland Support Project funding.
This is part of the ‘Friends of Myross Wood’ project that began in 2022. The ‘Friends’ objective is to support the creation of a living, community woodland resource for biodiversity, education, recreation and the arts.
The ’Friends’ goal is to create a ‘Meitheal’ type project that will enable local people and organisations at all levels, from schools to businesses and community groups to support, fundraise and most importantly get involved in the work of developing the wood. This week sees the project begin the substantial work of restoration, and one that will bring awareness and a new found respect to this most endangered part of West Cork and Ireland’s natural heritage.