About
Green Restoration Ireland Cooperative Society Ltd was established in 2019.
Our goal is to reverse the ecological degradation of the Irish landscape and the loss of rural communities. We support rural development by taking direct action to restore our natural heritage. By restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services, we help to combat climate change.
We aim to achieve our goal by four means:
1. Peatlands restoration service to be certified under a national Wetland Code.
2. Native woodland creation based on Close to Nature Forestry. This fixes additional carbon and better maintains biodiversity.
3. Restoration of native woodland threatened by deer grazing and invasive species or upgrading of scrub woodland to high woodland
4. Support of sustainable, low-input, diversified regenerative farming and other sustainable rural enterprises which value and create income from our landscape to an appropriate standard.
Properly funded ecological restoration, we believe can provide many of the solutions to community regeneration. We see financing for these initiatives coming through appropriate public funding and the development of high-quality carbon and biodiversity osets for organisations with unavoidable CO2 emissions and biodiversity impacts.
Core Team
Douglas McMillan
Project Manager
Douglas McMillan
Project Manager
Douglas McMillan
Project Manager
Douglas McMillan
Project Manager
Douglas McMillan
Project Manager
Douglas McMillan
Project Manager
We are business people, citizens, community activists, ecologists, farmers, professionals and scientists united in the common goal of preparing the way for a sustainable future in an economically and ecologically revitalised Ireland.
Our Cooperative Values
GRI is a member of the Irish Cooperative Organisation Society (ICOS) and adheres to cooperative rules. The co-operative principles are seven in number derive from the principles established by the Rochdale Pioneers:
Cooperatives are voluntary organisations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, class, racial, political or religious discrimination
Cooperatives are democratic organisations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. Elected Board representatives are accountable to the membership. Primary cooperative members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote
Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the ‘capital’ of their cooperative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative
Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organisations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organisations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy
Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives. They inform the general public – particularly young people and opinion leaders – about the nature and benefits of co-operation
Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures to create social solidarity and economic independence
Cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members