Tree-planting blitz: all in a day’s work
Farmers, smallholders and organisations are invited to roll their sleeves up for a massive tree-planting venture.
The offer comes from One Million Trees in One Day, a charity and cross-border initiative, which aims to see a million young native trees planted at sites right across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland – and all in the space of 24 hours.
Would-be tree planters can apply online now for packs of 50 native saplings, enough to create a small woodland or hedgerow1.
The packs, which are subsidised, are available for a modest application fee of €21 or (at the time of writing) £18.89. They will be delivered to local collection points in readiness for the big planting day: Saturday 11 February 2017.
Imogen Rabone is the project co-ordinator and says: “Both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are very short on native trees and woodland. We want to help people plant their own trees in both rural and urban areas, and with a focus on small sites.
“We’ve been testing the water in recent years, and know that the interest is there. During its pilot phase, 2013 to 2016, the project has helped to plant over 650,000 native trees at more than 3,000 sites right across the island of Ireland. We’re now pulling out all the stops to reach the big target: the planting of one million trees in one day.”
The initiative has been developed in collaboration with the Irish Natural Forestry Foundation in the Republic of Ireland, and is supported by the Woodland Trust in Northern Ireland.
Gregor Fulton, operations manager with the Woodland Trust, adds: “Trees and woodland offer so much, from brightening neighbourhoods to providing shelter for crops and livestock. This is an excellent opportunity for people who don’t have huge areas of land to plant and who, for example, just want to strengthen a hedgerow or create a copse. We really hope that local people will be encouraged to get planting and, with just a minimal fee, it won’t be too hard on the back pocket.”
Applications close on Saturday 31 December. Trees will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. To apply for trees or to simply find out more visit www.onemilliontreesinoneday.com
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