A CARDIGAN man who cycled more than 300 miles through the west of Ireland has raised €1,200 towards forest restoration to help combat the climate crisis.

Tristian Herbert, 23, along with friend Oscar Bradley, cycled from County Leitrim, along the river Shannon and the Wild Atlantic Way.

The pair, who first met in Madagascar while working as forest volunteers on the remote island of Nosy Komba off its north-west coast, undertook their trek to raise awareness surrounding the problems of deforestation.

They raised money for three charities - Moyhill Farm and Cloughjordan community farm which they visited on their cycle ride across Ireland and Kukula Tree Hugs agro forestry project in Madagascar.

“Moyhill Farm in County Clare focuses on growing local organic food, teaching visitors how to live at-one with nature, and planting trees,” said former Cardigan School pupil Tristian, who studied biology at Oxford and is now studying for his masters at Exeter University.

“We are raising money to support the Hometree charity of this group. Every tree planted costs €3 and is one step closer to a forest for tomorrow.”

Cloughjordan eco-village is a blueprint for sustainable living boasting Ireland’s largest district renewable heating system, 129 high-performance green homes, an organic farm and 20,000 newly-planted trees.

The third chosen charity, Kukula, is a conservation group working to protect Madagascan forests in close partnership with the local communities.

“Since humans began cutting them down, almost half of all forests have vanished,” added Tristian.

“Luckily, the solution is quite simple: plant and grow more trees. And this is by far the easiest, cheapest and most effective way to tackle the climate crisis.”