09 December 2022
Teagasc Forestry Development Department (FDD) presented its innovative “outdoor classroom “educational programme to the European annual meeting of the Integrate Network in Madrid
Between October 19 and 21, more than 40 participants involved with Integrate Network met in Madrid, Spain, to discuss the progress and future development of this pan-European training network.
This new European network includes 24 participating countries and aims to educate European forest users on how best to integrate the production and biodiversity value of each forest using appropriate forest management.
Participating countries were represented at the meeting by officials of forestry ministries, educators from forestry extension agencies involved in the project, and representatives of the European Commission who are taking an interest in the potential of this network for the future development of European forestry policy.
Ireland was jointly represented by Dermot Dunphy (Forestry Division of the Department of Agriculture and the Marine) and by Jonathan Spazzi (Teagasc FDD).
Participants to the Integrate Network annual meeting in Madrid
The Integrate Network
The European Integrate Network connects almost 200 practical demonstration sites across Europe. These so-called “marteloscope” sites allow for versatile training applications suitable for a broad range of users such as forest owners, foresters, students and society.
This new forest development resource aims to demonstrate how integrated forest management could help optimise the production and biodiversity value of each forest. It adopts a facilitation-style format and encourages participants to learn by doing, leading to group discussions and valuable peer-to-peer learning.
It includes the use of touch-screen tablets for thinning simulations while in the forest, allowing participants to practise new skills and test out in real-time different management options ranging from clear fell to continuous cover management systems.
For more information on continuous cover management systems see:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/forestry/advice/management/continuous-cover-forestry/
Teagasc FDD has been an active participant in the development of the network and, in close collaboration with our European and national partners, has developed in Ireland multiple outdoor training plots and an innovative programme of workshops. These have been available in various locations in Ireland since 2019 to forest owners, foresters, students and other interested groups.
For more information on Teagasc marteloscope network see:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/forestry/advice/management/continuous-cover-forestry/the-marteloscope-training-network/
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/forestry/news/2022/launch-marteloscope-training-programme.php
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