Nature Finance Project
Hometree’s Nature Finance Project is an ambitious initiative to unlock new ways of funding large-scale nature restoration across Ireland. It exists to address a critical gap: while the need to restore nature is widely understood, there is still no clear, workable system to support landowners and farmers to do this over the long term. This project is about changing that, designing practical, credible approaches that make restoration viable at scale.
Working at the intersection of ecology, farming and finance, the project brings together a multidisciplinary team alongside landowners, communities and technical partners. Together, we are exploring how innovative funding models can support the transition of 57,000 acres of land into management for nature by 2035, with a focus on native woodlands and resilient ecosystems.
Grounded in Hometree’s vision of thriving landscapes shaped by people and nature, the Nature Finance Project is currently focused on developing and testing practical approaches that can deliver real outcomes on the ground. By building solutions rooted in local realities and informed by global thinking, this work aims to lay the foundations for a new model of nature restoration in Ireland, one that is fair, scalable and built to last.
Initially, this is a three-year project enabling the research, design and testing of new approaches to financing nature restoration in Ireland.
News and updates
Out of Balance: Nature Finance Scoping Report
The Nature Finance scoping report brings together global research and local insight to understand how nature finance could work in an Irish context. It maps the ecological, cultural and financial realities of the landscape, identifying the key challenges and opportunities in developing a credible, workable model for funding long-term nature restoration.
To download and read the report, please submit details below.
Team
Liam Hennessy
Nature Finance Project Lead
Liam comes from an agricultural advisory and finance background having worked in Agri- business development for 11 years. He holds a primary degree in Agricultural Science and a masters degree in Financial Risk Management. He is working as the Nature Finance Project Lead for the Nature Finance Team with his special remit including land economics, agricultural policy and financial instruments and structures. Using his experiences he hopes to unlock landscape-scale areas of land for nature restoration and community development. Coming from Cork, he is passionate about empowering people to become agents of change for the benefit of nature and their communities.
Ronan Doherty - Project Developer, Nature Finance Team
Ronan has extensive experience in the renewable energy sector, serving as CEO of ElectroRoute and contributing to Ireland's energy research and policy. He holds a degree and Ph.D. in engineering from UCD. He is working as Project Developer for the Nature Finance team focusing on formalising strategies and processes to help streamline nature restoration at scale and attracting alternative sources of finance to bridge the nature funding gap in Ireland. Levering his experience in developing the wind energy sector in Ireland he wants to help drive the nascent nature restoration sector towards Ireland’s nature restoration targets. Based in Donegal, he is passionate about ancient woodlands, nature based recreation and coastal habitats.
Alanna Curtin
Nature Finance Project Coordinator
Alanna has built her career across sustainability, nature data and start-up innovation, with roles at NatureMetrics, Map Impact and Provenance. Driven by a constant pursuit of impact, she has spent her career connecting emerging environmental frameworks with the organisations and communities that need them most. She is working as Nature Finance Project Coordinator for the Nature Finance Team, focusing on funder relations, project coordination and stakeholder engagement to help deliver landscape-scale nature restoration in Ireland. Having recently returned to West Cork after 12 years in the UK, she is passionate about growing her own food, year-round sea swimming and living closely connected to nature on her doorstep.
For enquiries or to get in touch about the Nature Finance Project, contact liam@hometree.ie
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