Creating Native Woodlands in Querrin, Co. Clare

Cloudforest Six – Restoring Ireland’s Coastal Biodiversity

At Cloudforest Six in Querrin, Co. Clare, we are restoring one of Ireland’s most valuable natural assets: native woodland. Querrin’s sweeping estuary landscape, enriched by Atlantic winds and traditional farmland, offers the ideal setting to rebuild a living, diverse forest that reflects Ireland’s ecological heritage.

By planting native species suited to the local soils and coastal climate, we’re creating a woodland that will support wildlife, strengthen habitats, and thrive for generations.

Why Native Woodlands Matter Here

Querrin is home to migrating birds, pollinators, and coastal species that depend on healthy, connected ecosystems. Native trees—those that evolved here over thousands of years—are essential to supporting this life. They host insects, birds, fungi, and mammals at far higher levels than non-native species and form the backbone of a resilient, self-sustaining woodland.

For Cloudforest Six, planting native is our commitment to biodiversity, climate resilience, and restoring Ireland’s natural balance.

A Landscape Surrounded by Sitka Spruce

Cloudforest Six sits within a wider landscape dominated by Sitka spruce plantations, a common feature in West Clare. While these conifer stands provide some valuable shelter from strong Atlantic winds, they offer limited biodiversity value compared to native woodland.

What Sitka Spruce Means for the Site

• Shelter:
  The surrounding spruce plantations act as a natural windbreak, reducing exposure and helping young native trees establish more successfully in Querrin’s coastal climate.

• Biodiversity:
  Sitka spruce provides relatively poor habitat for Irish wildlife. The closed canopy limits light, understorey growth, and food sources, resulting in far fewer birds, insects, and flowering plants.

• Opportunity for Restoration:
  By creating a rich, layered native woodland within a spruce-dominated area, Cloudforest Six becomes a biodiversity hotspot—a contrasting habitat that supports species the plantations cannot. Over time, this native woodland will act as a refuge, feeding corridor, and breeding ground embedded within a wider monoculture landscape.

Our project doesn’t compete with the surrounding forestry—it complements it, adding ecological richness and long-term resilience to the area.

Our Woodland Type & Species Mix at Querrin

The soils around Querrin range from free-draining mineral soils to pockets of wetter ground influenced by the Shannon Estuary. This allows us to create a mixed native woodland that mirrors what would naturally occur here.

1. Oak–Birch–Holly Woodland (Well-Drained Areas)

• Sessile Oak

• Pedunculate Oak

• Downy Birch

• Rowan

• Holly

• Hazel

• Wild Cherry

2. Wet Woodland (Lower or Seasonal Wet Areas)

• Alder

• Goat & Grey Willow

• Downy Birch

• Guelder Rose

• Bird Cherry

These species together create natural corridors for wildlife travelling between coastal and inland environments.

Designing a Future Forest

At Cloudforest Six, we plant with habitat creation in mind:

• Diverse canopy (oak, birch) for long-term stability

• Rich understorey (holly, hazel, rowan) for shelter and food

• Shrub layer (guelder rose, hawthorn, blackthorn) for pollinators and nesting

• Open glades to encourage light-loving plants and natural regeneration

Over time, this mosaic of habitats will form a living, breathing woodland, reflective of the ancient forests that once covered Ireland.

A Woodland for the Next Generation

Querrin’s Cloudforest Six is more than a planting site—it’s a long-term restoration project. As these native trees grow, they will lock away carbon, strengthen biodiversity, and create a forest that belongs to West Clare’s landscape and its future.