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Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, it has partnered with west Cork creative hub Crithir to complete the group's ecosystem restoration project.
Des O'Dowd and the wider team at Inchydoney Island have long supported Irish artists and craftspeople, particularly those within their locality, with the works of many west Cork artists featured within the hotel.
With the help of the Tree Council of Ireland, Inchydoney has committed to supporting Crithir, which is located in Drinagh.
The creative hub weaves sustainability and the arts together through its wellbeing and residency programmes, with immersion with natural world being an important aspect of the work it does.
Residency
The group is based on a small farm holding and aspires to help guests learn and grow, focusing on creativity, wellbeing, farm to fork food, nature and community.
It puts out open calls each year for artists and others interested in taking up residency to live and work on the smallholding.
As part of a three-year commitment by Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa, Crithir will plant approximately 3,000 native Irish trees on its land, in a bid to support local biodiversity.
Tim Daly operates Crithir and says connection to nature is the core of their value system.
We have been working to create additional wildlife habitats
"We have been working to create additional wildlife habitats in support of local biodiversity," he explains. "Our collaboration with Inchydoney will see the planting of thousands of mixed hardwood and softwood trees, with a major focus on native Irish woodlands to help restore ecosystems in the area.”
Des says that aside from wanting to celebrate Inchydoney's 25th anniversary by doing something special, he also felt an immediate connection with the work Crithir aims to complete within the community.
“We wanted to celebrate west Cork on behalf of our team and our guests to mark 25 years of being immersed in this beautiful community," he adds.
"We have always been delighted to support the unique, creative community that surrounds us, and we’re very interested in what Crithir is trying to achieve.
Commitment
"Our commitment to this project feels like the right thing to do for us and we’re happy, on behalf of our guests, to plant these native Irish trees and watch this woodland develop over the coming years with Tim and his team as they work to support local wildlife habitats and restore local ecosystems.”
Brendan Fitzsimons is CEO of the Tree Council of Ireland. He says the project is not just artistic, but innovative.
"Tree planting is at the core of our mission,” he says.
Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa is home to one of Ireland’s largest solar arrays which has been generating energy since 2006 and uses Calor BioLPG, a 100% renewable energy source.
Electric vehicle charging points are available for guests and the hotel regularly organises beach clean-ups with its team and local residents.
For more information on Crithir, you can find them on Instagram @crithir_
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