This article is from page 15 of the 2007-05-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
SOME 50 experts from 22 coun- tries descended on Clare last week to celebrate the life of one of Ire- land’s leading forestry pioneers.
Robert Tottenham, who spent the majority of his 82 years developing the grounds of his 400-hectare for- est in Mount Callan, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in his home on April 12.
A group from international forest- ry organisation, Pro Silva Europe, visited Mount Callan this week to pay tribute to Tottenham and view the ongoing reforestation work.
Born in 1925, Robert served in Europe during World War II and in India and Burma following the ie
At the age of 24, in 1949, he re- turned to Ireland to run the family farm in west Clare.
The land was rough and moun- tainy and he faced many challenges to simply eek out a living at a time with no farming subsidies.
In the late 1960s, he met with Tom Clear, a forestry professor from UCD, who showed him the possibilities of forestry.
Using his background in engineer- ing, Robert was able to use simple agricultural machinery to help him
plant the majority of his land over the next 20 years.
He adapted an old Massey Fergur- son 135 tractor and a single mole- bore plough to plant the saplings.
The trees grew strong and tall and before long Robert was travel- ling the world learning more about modern forestry techniques.
Following one such trip to Swit- zerland in 1999, he came across the Pro Silva organisation and was so impressed that he established Pro Silva Ireland at the Armada Hotel at Spanish Point in 2000.
Pro Silva advocated a ‘close-to- nature’ forestry technique, where forests are managed in perpetuity with mixed species of all ages.
Robert invited Pro Silva to host its international annual general meeting in Clare this year and was finalising preparations for the trip when he died.
The four-day tour, planned by Robert and sponsored by Pro Sil- va and COFORD, took place last week.
The event saw the international group visit Mount Callan as well as parts of the Burren and forests in Clare, Limerick and Kerry.
Robert Tottenham is survived by his wife Jan and sons Robin, Fred and George.