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tending a forest, experimental nature cinema & theory by cathy fitzgerald (phd practice-thesis visual culture scholar, NCAD Ireland)

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“When I was sixteen I punched my art teacher. So hard he ended up on the ground” is how Polly Higgins ‘Lawyer for the Earth’ begins her new talk about how she as a child stood up to injustice in her school (see her talk at http://vimeo.com/67285099).

Polly Higgin’s work on a ‘law to end ecocide’ is also about standing up to injustice, this time for our collective global environment. Her international campaign to end Ecocide is gathering further momentum.

Recently she went to Vienna to give a speech on ecocide to Austrian leaders. Austria was apparently the first to sign the legal campaign against slavery; and the route to end slavery is something Higgins has often referred to in her work on ending ecocide:

‘Polly Higgins and Thomas Linzey, a leading lawyer working in the US, and growing numbers of leading international legal people and researchers, are arguing that in much the same way that slavery and disenfranchisement against women were perpetuated by seeing other races and women ‘as property’, that changing laws to overturn the erroneous idea that natural ecosystems be regarded as property, will powerfully and legally shift corporations away from
committing crimes of ecocide’ (Fitzgerald, 2013). (more…)

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The big fox of Jenkinstown Woodland, Co. Kilkenny came out for the children on the Jenkinstown woodland protest walk

945155_10151953672738916_1658286241_nI was delighted to be asked to FutureProof Kilkenny‘s Woodland walk last Sunday at Coillte Jenkinstown woodland (walks had been organised all across Ireland to keep the pressure on the Government not to sell Irish public forest harvesting rights). I said a few words about Green Forest policy but really the day was about the forests; the nature, the people, the great picnic, music, and forest story-telling (not to mention the big fox of Jenkinstown). Best day of summer so far.

Filmmaker Daragh Byrne created a terrific video of the day too. Other images below – Holly thought the walk and picnic was brilliant, again lots of dogs came out to protest too. Thanks to Paul Brennan and Mick Greene for organising such a terrific day.

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So delighted to launch policy with old friends, Jan Alexander - Crann founder and former Chair of ProSilva Ireland (key NGO on continuous European

I was so delighted to launch the Irish Greens Forest Policy policy with two of my oldest friends, Jan Alexander – Crann founder and former Chair of ProSilva Ireland (key European NGO on continuous cover, non clearfell  forest management); and Alan Price, Chair of Carlow Kilkenny Greens. Thanks to David Wilkinson, Director of the Irish Forestry Woodland & Bio Energy Show for being so enthusiastic that we launch the policy at the Stradbally Forest show. Photograph: Eileen MacDonagh

Update: thanks to Green members who nominated me for ‘Green of the Week’ for my work on forest policy and recent end ecocide work. Really delighted – thanks everyone for all the support!

Yesterday I was at the Irish Forestry Woodland & BioEnergy show to launch the Greens Forest policy with Jan Alexander, Crann founder and former Chair of ProSilva Ireland (key European NGO on continuous cover, non clearfell  forest management); and Alan Price, Chair of Carlow Kilkenny Greens.. See the press release here Greens forest policy

I have been working on this policy since 2010 with Green Members and supporters; former minister Trevor Sargent, Stiofan Nutty, John Brownlee, Una Ruddock, Ken Doyle, Daragh Little and others.  It is a comprehensive 10 page document developed over three years in consultation with many Irish forest stakeholders, organisations, individuals and leading European Continuous Cover forest experts.

Jan Alexander has been instrumental over many years in bringing new ideas to Irish forestry. In recent years she has been highlighting key practices and long term integrated sustainable forest policy of the European federation of Close-to-Nature continuous cover forest experts of ProSilva Europe, through her work with ProSilva Ireland (established in 2000). (more…)

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