Community Conversations: Shaping Ireland’s Nature Restoration Plan
Participants discussing and exploring nature during the Community Conversation event in Lahinch.
Ireland is at a turning point. With nature under increasing pressure, the new EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) sets out an ambitious target: to restore at least 20% of our land and sea areas by 2030. Meeting this challenge will take more than policy, it will take people, communities, and meaningful dialogue.
To ensure that this plan truly works for people and nature, Hometree has partnered with the design studio ACT (Accelerating Change Together) to host Community Conversations across Ireland. In September and October, discussions, workshops, and walks will take place in all provinces, bringing people together to share stories, ideas, and lived experiences that matter to communities. The outputs from these workshops will feed directly into the wider consultation on the development of Ireland’s national Nature Restoration Plan.
Attendees watching a short introductory film before beginning the workshop.
The Context
In 2024, Europe made history. By the narrowest of margins, the Nature Restoration Law was passed at the European Parliament. Ireland’s vote was decisive. For the first time, EU countries are legally obliged to restore damaged habitats, revive biodiversity, and rebuild resilience into our landscapes, rivers, seas, and soils.
Now the responsibility shifts home. Each Member State, including Ireland, must prepare a National Nature Restoration Plan that sets out how these ambitious goals will be delivered on the ground. The Irish Government has created a multi-strand consultation process to guide this work.
One of the most important parts of that process is the Community Conversations - a chance for ordinary people across Ireland to share their hopes, concerns, and ideas for the future of nature.
An ambitious restoration plan will benefit ecosystems such as woodlands, wetlands, rivers and grasslands.
Who is hosting these conversations?
Hometree, working with ACT (Accelerating Change Together), a design studio based in Ballina, have been asked to deliver the Community Conversations on behalf of the State. We are independent facilitators. Our role is to create spaces where people can speak openly and honestly about:
The nature they value most in their community.
The changes they’ve seen in their lifetimes.
Their hopes and visions for restoration.
How they would like their communities to be able to experience nature into the future.
These conversations are for the ordinary people of Ireland: families, neighbours, fishermen, farmers, walkers, gardeners, school students, anyone who cares about their place and its future.
Community Conversation workshops will explore people’s hopes for the future of our coasts and seas.
When and where are they happening?
Community Conversations will take place in September and October 2025, in towns and villages across the country. These events are free and open to anyone who wishes to attend. Your voice is valuable!
14th September – Lahinch, Clare
Community Conversation: Lahinch Leisure Centre 11-13:00
Coastal Walk with Cormac McGinley: Meet at the lifeguard hut 14:00-15:00
25th & 26th September – Iveragh, Kerry
Community Conversation: Brú na Dromoda 18:30-20:30 on Thursday 25th
Nature Restoration in the Uplands Walk: Meet outside gate of Kerry College V93 EY00 10:30-12:30. Please note that this walk will cover rough ground – please dress appropriately. Parking is limited – please car pool where possible.
2nd October – Killybegs, Donegal
Coastal Restoration and Well-Being with Easkey Britton Walk and Talk: Meet at Island House F94 HY84 at 17:15
Community Conversation: Foresters Community Hall 19:00-21:00
5th October – Askeaton, Limerick
Woodlands and farmland walk with Ray Ó Foghlú: Meet in the east square, Askeaton 11:00-13:00
Community Conversation: Askeaton Community Hall 14:00-16:00
11th October – Carlingford Lough, Louth
Lough Environments: Land to Sea: Meet outside Dolmen Centre, Omeath 11:30-13:30
Community Conversation: Dolmen Centre Omeath 14:30-16:30
14th October – Online Conversation in English
16ú Deireadh Fómhair - Comhráite pobail ar líne as Gaeilge
18th October – Ballyforan, Roscommon
Bog Biodiversity Walk with Ricky Whelan: Meet at the entrance to the Greenway 11:00
Community Conversation: St Aidan’s GAA Hall 16:00-18:00
27th & 28th October – Newtownmountkennedy, Wicklow
Halloween at Mount Kennedy Woods from 3.30pm 27th October
Community Conversation: Parkview Hotel 18:00-20:00 28th October
30th October – Phibsborough, Dublin
The Natural City walk with Pádraig Fogarty and Kevin Loftus: Meet at Dalymount Lane 16:00
Community Conversation: The Spark Co-op D07 VXF8
Every Community Conversation will include an optional event where attendees can explore nature, discuss issues related to restoration, and gather with their community.
Why does it matter?
Too often, national debates about farming, forestry, or the environment are dominated by insiders — civil servants, lobby groups, or NGOs. This time, the process recognises that ordinary people must be at the heart of shaping the plan.
Nature restoration is not an abstract policy, it’s about our rivers, our bogs, our fields, our mountains, our seas. It’s about whether children can hear birdsong in the morning, whether our towns flood in winter, whether our coasts are still rich with fish.
This is your chance to influence the plan that will shape Ireland’s relationship with nature for decades to come.
What to expect at an event
A guided nature walk in a beautiful local setting, grounding the discussion in the reality of place.
A dynamic, open conversation where every voice matters.
A welcoming, family-friendly space designed for listening, sharing, and imagining a future where nature thrives again.
An open invitation
Hometree and ACT are delighted to facilitate these conversations, and we warmly invite you, your family, and your neighbours to come along.
This is not just about laws and policies. It is about the stories of our places, the memories of what has been lost, and the possibilities of what can be restored.