Join us and help to grow a future where nature thrives
The Nature Trust is an Irish not-for-profit with a vision for the future of Ireland in which nature thrives.
To achieve this, our mission is to plant new, native woodlands at scale across the country and manage them on a non-commercial basis for the benefit of the climate, nature, local communities and wider society.
We have already started on this journey and we would like you to join us.
Meet the team
John Beckett
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Dr Ciarán Fallon
Ciarán is the Managing Director of the Nature Trust and Director of Coillte Nature. He has held a range of senior management roles in Coillte over the last ten years and has experience working in the public and private sectors in Ireland and abroad. He holds a BSc in Engineering, an MSc in Environmental Sustainability and a PhD in Sociology which he earned for his research into environmental governance in Ireland.
Karen Woods
Karen is an experienced forester with a particular interest in managing forests for recreation and the use of Continuous Cover Forestry. Karen has worked with Coillte in a wide variety of roles, including Resource Lead, Dublin Mountains Partnership Recreation Manger and Forest Manager. Karen holds a BAgrSc (Forestry) from UCD and an MSc in Forest Nutrition from the University of British Columbia.
Dr Declan Little
Declan is a native woodland specialist and the former CEO of Woodlands of Ireland, a registered charity dedicated to developing native woodland projects and raising awareness among the public and policy makers. He has worked as a researcher and lecturer and has been a key figure in shaping Ireland’s native woodland policy over the last twenty years. Declan holds a PhD from UCD in Native Woodland Soils.
Hedda Dick
Hedda specialises in communication, engagement and education in relation to sustainability and environmental issues. She has held a range of positions in the Irish Environmental NGO sector working on topics such as climate, biodiversity, water and energy. Hedda holds a BA in Communication Studies from DCU and an MSc in Sustainable Development from DIT.
Our values
Ambition
Our ambition is driven by the urgency of the climate and biodiversity crises and the scale of impact that is required to address these challenges.
Integrity
This action must have integrity, which we embed in the fabric of our work by building on our expertise and embracing evidence, transparency and accountability.
Alliance
At the heart of all this are the communities of place, practice, interest and action that we are a part of, and the collaborative alliances that we grow together.
Innovation
To realise our ambition, we must innovate the transformational solutions that inspire and enable everyone to take strategic action.
Commitment
Living these values requires a commitment that the social, cultural and ecological value we create endures and is maintained in perpetuity for the benefit of all.
Meet the founders
Imelda Hurley
Imelda is CEO of Coillte, Non-Executive Director at Dole Plc and Deputy President of IBEC. She has over twenty years’ executive and non-executive experience in public company, state owned, private equity and venture capital backed businesses in Ireland and internationally. Imelda holds a Bachelor of Business Studies from University of Limerick, is a Chartered Accountant and an alumna of Harvard Business School. As CEO, Imelda’s mission is to ensure that Coillte grows forests with multiple benefits for people, climate, nature and wood.
John Beckett
John is a technology and climate entrepreneur. He is the CEO of ChannelSight, an ecommerce software platform recognised by Deloitte as among the 50 fastest growing tech companies in Ireland in 2019 and 2020. John is involved in a number of projects focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in key sectors of the economy such as agriculture and energy. John founded Forestry Partners in 2019 to provide innovative sustainability solutions to corporate partners on a not-for-profit basis.
Coillte is a semi-state company managing 7% of the land area of Ireland (c.440,000 hectares), of which 90% is forested. Today Coillte are the largest forester and largest provider of outdoor recreation in the country. Coillte also facilitate and develop renewable energy projects and carry out nature conservation and biodiversity enhancement projects.
Coillte is over 30 years old and during that time has continually evolved, bringing new thinking to the management of our forests. Today, the wood produced is all independently certified as sustainably produced and twenty percent of the estate is managed with biodiversity as the primary objective.
Forestry Partners is a not-for-profit social enterprise founded in 2019 to provide innovative sustainability solutions for corporate partners to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises.
Forestry Partners have developed a suite of technology tools that enable partners who are seeking to advance their environmental and sustainability objectives to establish targets and baselines.
The approach of Forestry Partners is to bring together leading national climate, forestry and biodiversity experts to establish verifiable, permanent native woodland projects in Ireland, which also create welcome local community resources and a long-term legacy for partners.