WEST Cork could be among the beneficiaries of a €14.7m nature restoration project – but only if €1m can be raised before the November 19 deadline.

The Wild Atlantic Rainforest Project will look to support 2,000 acres of nature reserves on HomeTree’s land, and an additional 2,000 acres in partnership with farmers.

They currently operate a site on the Beara peninsula, working with 36 landowners, and hope to establish further conservation areas towards Mizen Head.

The funds would help establish six hubs across the western seaboard with offices, demonstration areas, education spaces and tree nurseries, with a substantial figure set aside for direct nature restoration.

Ray Ó Foghlú, Hometree’s first employee and current head of partnerships and development, said: “It’s kind of nervous times. The funny thing about the co-funding element is it’s not pro rata. You either have it on the day and you get allocated the €14.7m, or you just don’t have it and you get nothing.”

It has made the charity approach the problem in a way they never have before, by asking the public for support with a goal of €1m in mind.

“A couple of weeks ago, we started a public fundraiser, and that’s been amazing. The generosity of people in Ireland is incredible,” Ray explained.

He said he’s mapped all the donations, with Cork ranking third in the country for money raised and noted donations from hunters and farmers across West Cork.

“It’s not just money from nowhere. This is the money of the normal person of Ireland, putting their hand in their pocket and saying, I believe in this.”

With two weeks left, he said the charity have a “concerted effort in America, in the UK and in Ireland to pull the money together”.

Ray believes nature can be a unifying force. “By giving €20, or €2,000, people can come in at whatever level they feel comfort table with it.”

To donate visit www.hometree.ie.