Carnagarve Forest, Ireland: Nurturing Mental Health in a Multilayered Forest

Exploring Carnagarve Forest in County Donegal, Ireland

Almost by accident, I find myself the owner of a rich, green forest. This 33-year-old planting of assorted broadleaf trees sits in the northwest of the island of Ireland, not far from the shore of a scenic tidal lough. Over the past decade, the healthful breath of those trees, cycling through the seasons, has wafted over me and my community. 

The backstory  

As a young man I inherited over 60 acres of land in the townland of Carnagarve from my father, but rather than farm it myself, I let out the arable fields to relatives while I pursued my own career as a teacher. In the mid-1990s the Irish government (with less than 8% of the nation under woodland) was offering grants to reforest marginal land, so I decided to take up the challenge. My wife and I had ten acres of oak, ash, sycamore and birch planted, not so much in hope of a return on harvested timber as a vague investment in future “wellbeing” of some kind. A registered forestry company oversaw basic maintenance for two decades.  

Liam Burns, owner and keeper of Carnagarve Forest, welcoming students to the paths, peace and lessons of nature.

Rediscovery 

Now fast forward to retirement in 2017.  It was like discovering Carnagarve Forest anew. I had paths cut through the undergrowth and created a few clearings with log seating. I found I could sit for an hour or two, just breathing and thinking. I would contemplate a green space which was much more than a list of trees: it was multilayered. Below the swaying canopy of the lofty poplars and ash, were shorter tree species, slower to grow but sturdier in their timber. Below that again an understory dominated by salmonberry bushes, an unwelcome visitor from North America, by the way.  Majestic ferns and ivy abounded; flag irises marked the wet areas while lichens and mosses coated one side of the trees and the rocks. A bewildering array of fungi sprouted around my feet, daring me to sample them. I didn’t. Instead, I marvelled at the sheer diversity of life that had developed while my back had been turned.  

Community resource for wellbeing  I began to realise that Carnagarve Forest could be more than just my personal fiefdom. It could be a “community resource for wellbeing - physical, mental and spiritual”. The multilayered forest was standing patiently in our community poised to offer its health to us multilayered humans. Around the same time, I encountered the “Five Ways to Wellbeing”. This deceptively simple framework can be traced back to a 2008 research project by the UK based New Economics Foundation (NEF). The five evidence-based ways [2] are:    

• Take Notice,  

• Be active,  

• Connect,  

• Keep learning,  

• Give.   
  

The significance of these “ways” has been recognised not just within the UK but internationally, including the USA. [3] In my own country, it is central to the resources supplied by Mental Health Ireland to statutory bodies in all regions. [4] And significantly, the advice offered fits our emerging “wellbeing forest” like ivy hugging a tree.   

Carnagarve Forest - seasonal calendar 

As we now reach the end of summer 2026, our forest committee has settled into a comfortable cycle, following closely the natural rhythms of the year. We mark throughout our annual calendar the start of each of the four seasons and their midpoints.  

As each of the eight points approaches, we flag up some event and invite the local community, and friends further afield [5], to join us in celebrating the wakening of spring buds or the phased dying of the year’s light through autumn into winter. We organize live music round a controlled campfire, usually with food that is natural and sourced from the earth. The five ways to wellbeing are ever-present.  

Take notice – through Forest Bathing perhaps 

As I sat in the early days taking notice of my new-found treasure, I was inadvertently engaging in the Japanese art of “Shinrin-yoko” [6]. Seasoned practitioners of this Forest Bathing have firmly established that green spaces boost human health: everything from reduction of heart rate and blood pressure to boosted immune system. Sleep patterns improve and anxiety levels drop. [7]. At a minimum, anyone simply spending time in my forest – provided they allow themselves to shed distractions and engage all their senses – are absorbing such benefits.  

"I found I could sit for an hour or two, just breathing and thinking."

Be active and connect 

Any visitor to the forest is offered the opportunity to sit and reflect, yes, but they are also to encouraged to wander the paths – to be active. And many most bookings are not individuals but groups, often pre-existing with a clear focus and perhaps even their own funding. School and scouting groups, summer camping teens and women’s ecotherapy afternoons. There is a lot of active connection and interaction, very human and non-digital.  

One example: in 2021 our local county Sports Partnership [8], brought its “Woodlands for wellbeing ” programme to Carnagarve. For twelve weeks a selected group 

of about 15 walkers came to the forest gate, a mixture of ages and gender.  All had been referred by some agencies or other. Their walk leader, a gifted local artist, guided them through a variety of gentle activities, marinated in good health and all sitting gently in a forest environment. When I did my rounds later in the day, there were welcome telltale signs of their having visited: wildflower posies, moss and twig mandalas, leaf rubbings.  

Keep learning 

Carnagarve Forest can often seem like a large classroom where the curriculum is never too far from the woodland itself. At the start of spring 2026, we held a conference addressing the problem of the invasive salmonberry which runs throughout the forest.  That has led to a two-year project titled “Encouraging biodiversity”. A rising interest in foraging is popping up in our enquiries. We have brewed everything from nettle tea to healing comfrey oil. Looking forward,  we have an ambition to host a “place-based learning” [9] project, centred on the forest but stretching to the hill bogs above and the lough shore below, drawing in a selection of local groups.  

Give – through volunteering 

The forest has much to offer the visitors it welcomes. But it can further bless them by accepting what they might choose to offer back in return.  This is not a question of charging them for the use of the place. Nor is it a sneaky way of engaging unpaid labour. The research has found that opportunities to give elevate a person to a higher level of mental health than merely continually receiving. [10] 

That is why Carnagarve Forest advertises and hosts volunteer work parties several times a year. It is usually gentle work. The paths become overgrown, so therapeutic lopping is a standard activity. If we drive a few carefully spaced tree limbs into the ground as posts, the developing art of dead hedging produces a useful boundary marker around a clearing.

Spiritual health in green places 

Bodies and minds tend to come with spirits attached. The spiritual wellbeing of those who cross the forest threshold has required sensitive handling.  

Ireland as a country has had a sense of “the spiritual” stretching back millennia. Myths and legends are woven into the seas, lakes, mountains, bogs and, yes, forests of the island. Fairy folk and druids populate those tales, and there are many today who seek to return to this and would love to book in to Carnagarve to hug a tree or dance around a fire, chanting. I welcome them, listen to them and indeed learn from them as they demonstrate a deep knowledge of the plants to be foraged or the habits of creatures that lurk in the hollows of the night.   

However, I prefer to point my visitors to a different spirit-rich history. Ireland’s reputation as the island of “saints and scholars” is well documented. [11] Celtic Christian monastic settlements dotted Ireland and neighbouring islands liberally from the 5^th century onwards for a few hundred years. They drew people in to a vibrant faith which cared for them - body, mind and spirit. We welcome such a spirituality.  

Partly stemming from Covid lockdowns, there has been a rise in Forest  Church interest in Great Britain and Ireland, somewhat akin to Wild Church in the USA. Various social media platforms and recent books articulate the practice and theology well. [12] [13] [14] Carnagarve Forest has been happy to offer our paths and clearings to “Outdoor Church – North West”,  a regional coming together of Christian eco-believers who are part of a wider “Outdoor Church Collective”. They chose our forest to locate a St. Patrick trail in March and a wildfire event at Pentecost.  

Conclusion  

Carnagarve forest is but one small example of a greenspace where mental and more general health benefits lie hidden, waiting to be discovered. My advice is to find the equivalent location in your own community, enter and embrace it.   Need a natural space closer than Ireland? Find greenspaces in Illinois: www.enjoyillinois.com/things-to-do/outdoor-recreation/parks/ Read more about Liam and Carnagarve Forest visitors and programs: here.

References / Links / Notes 

[1] The social media presence of the forest can be found on Facebook at “Carnagarve Forest Friends” https://www.facebook.com/share/1GpjKXMgFK/?mibextid=wwXIfr 

[2] New Economics Foundation (NEF) report “Five ways to wellbeing” https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/five-ways-to-mental-wellbeing 

[3] Five ways to mental wellbeing USA 5 Ways to Mental Wellbeing US | JLR Wellbeing 

[4] Mental Health Ireland “Five Ways to Wellbeing” https://www.mentalhealthireland.ie/five-ways-to-wellbeing/  

[5] The Inman family from Fremont California documented their visit to Carnagarve Foresty in the summer of 2025 in a YouTube video “Reforesting Ireland”  (The timings for the actual forest visit are 01.55 - 13.18.) https://youtu.be/d_0_kOBvi6A?si=vTbUmdhuyx1Ik1nE   

[6] Recommended book: “Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness” by Dr. Li Qing, April 2018 

[7] Recommended article: “Why Forest Bathing Is Good for Your Health” by Karin Evans, August 2018 https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_forest_bathing_is_good_for_your_health

[8] Donegal Sports Partnership promoting on Active Donegal https://activedonegal.com/about-us/  

[9] Placed based education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place-based_education 

[10] Specific reference to research of the benefits of “Giving” can be found on page 10 of the NEF report. See [2] above.  

[11] Celtic Christian documentation https://www.scribd.com/document/899168129/Bibliography-of-Ancient-and-Modern-Celtic-Christian-Spirituality  

[12] Forest Church Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/forestchurch  

[13]  “Forest Church: A Field Guide to Nature Connection for Groups and Individuals” by Bruce Stanley, November, 2020 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forest-Church-Nature-Connection-Individuals/dp/0957538308 

[14] “Earthed: Christian Perspectives on Nature Connection” by Bruce Stanley (Author) et al.  https://www.amazon.com/Earthed-Christian-Perspectives-Nature-Connection-ebook/dp/B07GBBJ98T