IBP “Train the Trainers” event is bearing first fruits: Ireland to host multiple outdoor workshops this Spring

During April and May various Marteloscope workshops are already taking place in Ireland, organised by Teagasc Forestry Development Department (National Forest Extension Agency) in collaboration with the Forestry Division of the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM). Those are outdoor in-forest workshops, which aim to promote and facilitate discussions on integrative forest management options and approaches, together with forest owners, practitioners, and forestry students.

The recent “Train the Trainers” event in Binzen, Germany, organised by the Integrate Network attended by Jonathan Spazzi (Teagasc) and Dermot Dunphy (DAFM) was instrumental to further bring the IBP survey methodology front and centre as part of the Irish Marteloscope workshops. As fully booked events, these workshop series showcase the current interest in Ireland to learn more about the integration of biodiversity conservation into management practices and, in particular, the Index on Biodiversity Potential. Here a blend of forest owners, practitioners and students are coming together to take part in frank and meaningful discussions.

So far, the feedback received is excellent, says Irish member representative Jonathan Spazzi. The organizers expect around 80 participants to be trained this spring with more planned to attend trainings in Autumn.

Through the Integrate Network and a range of research and development projects, including SimInForest and the EU HE TRANSFORMIT project, collaboration across Europe between educators and researchers is ongoing on how best to best promote and communicate new, integrative, and closer-to-nature management solutions and ensure that forest health and productivity can continue to provide essential services to society’s collective well-being.

Feature Image Credits: Jonathan Spazzi