The mission of Once and Future Forest is to reforest the corridor of the Irish West Camino with a biodiverse ecosystem of native Irish trees. We envision the eventual creation of a wildlife corridor and green belt across Ireland.

We hope through this planting to revitalize the spiritual significance of the Irish forest by creating the opportunity for relationship between locals, pilgrims, and the original ogham trees of Irish myth and history.

Once and Future Forest is a 501(c)3 status nonprofit based in North Carolina.

We believe that our own health is inextricably intertwined with the health of the world around us. We believe that when we diversify and enrich the world we live in, our inner imaginations change shape, and those inner imaginations inspire us to tend the living world, and onward in a reciprocal spiral.

~to revitalize the native ecology of Ireland, lower Ireland’s vulnerability to climate change, and reduce planetary carbon load

~to provide aesthetic shelter and shade for pilgrims on the Irish West Camino and inhabitants of the surrounding areas

~to foster conditions for a spiritual relationship between pilgrims of the trail and the mythology, history, and lore of the Irish forest.

Our goal is threefold:

Our name is gathered from tales of heroes asleep beneath the soil of the land, ready to return when we need them.  This evokes the sleeping seedbank of the ancient Irish forest, resting in the soil and ready to return at our time of need.

We enact our mission by hosting storytelling and other community events.  Donations from these events are used to purchase native trees and make them available to pilgrims and locals for planting along the trail.

This is accomplished through partnership with local communities and pre-existing land stewardship initiatives that assist us in identifying community land where trees can be both welcomed and tended.