Final call for Forest and Woodland Awards entries as Waterford champions recognised
Crough Wood - Community Woodland Winners in last year's awards.
The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) has issued a final call for entries to the 2026 RDS Forest and Woodland Awards, with the deadline extended to Friday, January 30, 2026, encouraging Waterford farmers and community woodland groups to apply.
Waterford’s success was recognised nationally in 2025 when Crough Wood, managed by the Comeragh Community Development Group, won the Community Woodland Award for its measurable environmental and social impact.
With a prize fund of €8,000 and the prestigious RDS Silver Medal for category winners, the awards recognise climate-smart forestry practices that balance economic management with biodiversity and environmental protection.
Category winners will each receive €2,000 and an RDS Silver Medal, while runners-up will receive €1,000 and an RDS Certificate of Merit.
The Awards are divided into four main categories:
• Teagasc Farm Forestry Award – For working farmers integrating forestry into their overall farm enterprise, demonstrating active forest management that strengthens sustainability and economic benefits.
• Silvicultural Excellence and Innovation Award – For landowners demonstrating exceptional technical management in timber production (broadleaf, conifer, mixed, or coppice), setting the standard for commercial forestry in Ireland.
• Community Woodland Award – For communal ownership or management projects that establish and manage forests to deliver significant, measurable, and sustainable benefits to the local economy and environment.
• Native Woodland Conservation Award – For those achieving excellence in the conservation and sustainable management of native and long-established semi-natural woodlands, enhancing biodiversity and local economic opportunity.
Sarah Keating, Sustainability and Innovation Programme Manager at the RDS, said: "The RDS Forest and Woodland Awards shine a light on Ireland’s farmers and landowners who are shaping the future of our rural economy and environment through climate-smart practices.
"The categories are simple so that everyone can see themselves reflected.
"Whether you are integrating trees into your farm, producing high-quality timber, managing a woodland for your community, or conserving native woodlands, we encourage you to enter before January 30 and let us showcase your contribution."
Entry forms and further information are available at RDS Forest & Woodland Awards.
Completed entries can be emailed to forestry@rds.ie.
Winners will be announced in April 2026 at a ceremony in the RDS Concert Hall, forming part of the annual RDS Finding Common Ground Festival.
The event offers applicants the chance to network with peers, experts, and policymakers and attend talks on sustainable land use, the bioeconomy, and timber use in construction.
