Tom Roche

Rhode, Co Offaly Ireland

Founder/Coordinator at Just Forests

NGO / Public Service

Tom Roche is a craftsman in wood, human/environmental rights activist and educator. He is the founder/coordinator of Ireland's longest established initiative dealing solely with Ireland's reliance on imported timber. He is a very passionate and outspoken development educator (DE). Since founding Just Forests in 1989, he has developed numerous creative, hands-on and interactive education projects for the primary, post-primary and third level sectors. Using "wood" as the "hook", Tom emphasises societies reliance on timber and forests and makes real 'local' and 'global' links to Climate Change, Declining Biodiversity, Poverty and the destructive and lucrative illegal timber trade.