Save Leitrim
Save Leitrim is a voluntary, non-party organisation made up of people from across County Leitrim and neighbouring areas. We are farmers, parents, workers, environmentalists, community organisers, and rural advocates. What unites us is a belief that rural communities and landscapes should be alive with people, wildlife, and opportunity – not dominated by commercial monoculture forestry.
Who are we
– A grassroots, community-based group founded in 2018.
– A diverse coalition of residents, farmers, environmentalists, and community advocates.
– People who live with the daily reality of forestry – from power cuts and damaged roads to closed schools and disappearing neighbours.
– Volunteers who give their time to help others understand and challenge unsuitable forestry developments.
We are not against trees or forestry. We support farmers planting native trees on their own land, and we welcome agroforestry and high nature value grassland schemes. We are against blanket, commercial plantings of non-native conifers that put profit before people and nature.
Our story
Save Leitrim began when local people saw more and more farms and townlands being sold and planted in dense Sitka spruce, with little regard for the impact on neighbours, communities, or wildlife. Residents who had never been activists before started coming together in kitchens, halls, and community centres to share information, learn about forestry policy, and support each other.
Over time, we have:
– Helped communities make submissions and appeals against unsuitable forestry applications.
– Highlighted the cumulative impact of forestry on schools, services, and population in affected areas.
– Brought local stories to national attention through media, public meetings, and campaigns.
– Worked with allies across Ireland to call for fairer, science-based forestry policy that respects people and nature.
Our Principles
We work to
- Protect the health and well-being of the people of Leitrim and similar rural communities.
- Stop the further hollowing-out of rural communities, schools, sports clubs, and small businesses.
- Secure a viable future for young farmers and local families who want to stay on the land.
- Protect high nature value farmland, peatlands, wetlands, and other critical habitats.
- Defend water quality, soil health, and biodiversity.
- Support a transition from commercial monoculture plantations to sustainable models such as native woodland, agroforestry, and high nature value farming.
- Ensure that decisions about land use respect community rights, environmental law, and the public interest.