Ireland's New Forests

As part of Blog Action Day, I thought I would post one of the sights I love to see most of all in my travels around Ireland. This is the growth of new forests on agricultural land as a result of the government and EU policy of afforestation. Under the EU's CAP policy, farmers are allowed to apply for grants to plant and maintain forests on their land. This is enabling Ireland to regain much of its forested past (it has one of the lowest portion of forested land in the EU), providing what to me at least are the beautiful scenes above, as well as increasing the biodiversity of the region, as well as providing a sustainable source of wood.