Us And Trees, Last Minute Planting

Us And Trees 2024 series, Part three

In Ireland at least, we are at the end of the bare root tree planting season. This is generally between Samhain and Vernal Spring Equinox the following year. This is the time when trees are dormant. So as this is Vernal Spring Equinox time, I am very last minute posting this feature and most people in Ireland are last minute planting their bare root trees too.

From the last week of April to St. Patrick’s day is when most bare root tree plants seem to get planted here. From mid March trees are truly waking up and becoming active again.

All is not lost if your bare root tree plants are not planted yet. Just get them into generous size pots with compost and you can plant them outside anytime through the year, though that does involve a lot more work that planting the bare root plants.

Placing potted plants into the soil does seem to receive more care though, but there is a technique or two to do to make that successful/ It does not work to just dig a hole and tip the contents of the pot into it. The tree risks thinking it is still in a pot for a long time. 

It is wonderful if you already have space and know where you are going to plant your  tree plants. But what if you are eager to plant more trees, but just do not know where to put them? 

You really have between now and next mid November, the next bare root tree planting season to work that out, but that time goes past very quickly. 

There was some excitement here in Ireland when the Irish Times posted a news article that mentioned that the state owned forestry company Coillte was only going to plant Native Tree species from 2025 onwards. This was a huge surprise as this national forestry company here is very focused on establishing more monoculture single species sitka spruce tree plantations. The motive for plantations forestry is entirely profit but the tree plantations damage to biodiversity, landscapes, and the partnerships of communities is devastating. When these plantation trees crops are cleared Irish law states that land must be used for another crop right away. There’s no diversion into returning into more natural ways.

plantation forestry trees easily fallen in wind

Later in the day, Irish Times published a retraction that Coillte was NOT only going to plant Native Tree species, but they will be increasing Native Tree species planting, but not by very much. Maybe 10% of their forestry land will be growing Native Tree species by 2050. This currently stands at less than 2% of forest land growing Native Trees.

I feel there is no way that a national forestry agency here is ever going to be, or want to be, custodians or planting and managing many Native Tree woodlands and forests. Native Tree woodland preservation, creation and expansion is almost totally in the hands of small communities of people, like ourselves, passionate about the presence of native woodlands.

Sometimes, these community projects do become vast and do amazing work.

‘Trees For Life’ in Scotland is the most remarkable I know of. They have now worked on their project for many years, over 25 years, to restore the once expansive Caledonian forest. Much of this work has been rejuvenating forest ecosystems, and this has done wonders for the return of wildlife, flora, and very good water. This has improved quality of life for the landscape and people that visit. A very wholesome approach on many levels.

Staying in Scotland, there is a remarkable community achievement at Tiroran, South West of the Isle Of Mull. I used to live there, remarkably in what was once the Forestry Commission HQ there, the UK state forestry agency.

I used to live here, and it’s by the sea too

During the 80s I was involved in the lobbying of new legislation to allow local communities to form co-ops if forestry land was sold off. 

A few years ago, the government tried to sneakily sell off public forestry land to private forestry. The local community of the South West of the  Isle Of Mull got wind of this, formed a co-operative to bid to buy the forestry land under the 80s legislation. Their bid won and the ‘Tiroran Community Forest’ was born.

Since then the forest has become an amazing Forest School education centre for the island’s schools and for adults too. It has become a vital leisure area too and used for relaxation, picnics, scenic walks, and has a mountain bike trail too. Plantation trees are being replaced by native trees.

The Forest included a sawmill also put into good use providing local timber requirements and offering furniture making workshops teaching old joinery skills. 

The latest development, by the co-op, has been the setting up of woodland crofts, smallholding land areas focused on tree and food forest management plus homes for families who work these.  The best part of all of this is how ‘Tiroran Community Forest’ has bonded their community rather than break it up which is what commercial corporate run tree plantations do.

Ireland also has some recent growing community native woodland developments with some of the projects being the ‘Hometree Wild Atlantic Rainforest’ project based in Co. Clare but with projects expanding along West Of Ireland.

This is the closest woodland restoration project in Ireland that can compare with Trees Of Life in Scotland.

‘Gaelic Woodland Project’ based in Meath is a growing Native Woodland project that also focuses on heritage, folklore and mythology.

‘Native Woodland Trust’ has been around for about 25 years, I think, and are stewards of some beautiful ancient native woodlands around Ireland. One of their most recent woodlands taken over are the remarkable historic St. John’s Wood by Lough Ree on the River Shannon.  They also have a woodland at Farnagh, Co. Leitrim, close to where I live, includes some beautiful, very ancient Hawthorn Trees. 

I have mentioned these community style charity woodlands as they are an easy way for any of us to become involved in getting more Native Trees, into the ground, or better still is allowing land to create it’s own Native Woodland naturally as it does not take much for Birch seeds to blow in and settle, alder seeds do this too, and eventually many tree and plant species plus wildlife find themselves settled and growing in the same woodland homes.. 

Trees For Life, Tiroran Community Forest, Hometree, Gaelic Woodland, and Native Woodland Trust all have weekend volunteer events and sometimes residential events. It is worth looking them up and see what you can do with them. 

Inspired by what these groups, I have named, are doing, you may know smaller similar groups near where you live that are stewards of Native Woodland and you can join in those too?

Maybe you can be bold and take leadership through finding some local land and find some local people to use it to create a woodland sanctuary project or a food forest project. Often such land needs payment for either annual rental or purchase. This is when yourself and your local group would need to get serious and work out how to fund this through either each person taking a share of the cost, or participate in fund raising through crowdfunding like GoFundMe. You could engage in a bit of both, self financing through the co-op members contributing, plus crowdfunding. 

Smaller project choices for increasing the population of local native trees could be to encourage local schools to change part of their grounds, covered with tarmac and lawns, to become more educational spaces. Rip up the tarmac and lawn areas and replace with a little woodland, hedge, and maybe an orchard. This opens up the potential for much more biodiversity and very valuable nature education.  

Let’s not forget our own garden spaces and look closely at how we may add trees to those too. Maybe we have too much lawn, tarmac, and gravel areas? 

More and more farmers are also putting aside some of their land for native woodland and biodiversity projects. In Ireland increasing funds are being made available to grant this. A lovely grant funded project spreading to most counties of Ireland now is called ‘The Hare’s Corner’.

Their grants are for farmers and smallholders to set up a small native trees woodland, a small orchard, a pond, and being taught how to follow ‘A Plan For Nature’.

Worth some thought too, is considering how you could set up and care for a small ‘food forest’. Astrid Adler of Co. Clare is worth following with her passion for ‘syntropic’ agroforestry that includes food forest management.

Astrid seems to be increasing the workshops she is hosting of this plus I believe I read that she has just obtained over 4 acres more for this work. Astrid Adler is on Facebook.

The ‘Phantom Planter’ on Facebook is also worth a follow and he is a huge inspiration of how to get more native trees planted with very little money.

The ‘Phantom Planter’ has a very radical approach of ‘plant a tree, anywhere, anytime, any place’. Anywhere he has seen a space he has planted trees, often fruit and nut trees. ‘Phantom Planter’ always wears a mask to keep his identity secret. He is based in Northern Ireland. 

Phantom Planter has now become successful enough to create his own settled and established tree nurseries to ensure increased trees for more Phantom Planting for communities. It’s worth searching Facebook and following ‘Phantom Planter’ and being inspired by him.

I will post one more edition of ‘Us And Trees’ for this year and will venture into the growing popularity of what people are calling ‘Green Prescription’ and ‘Forest Bathing’ that is very different to the ‘Forest Bathing’ I was introduced to during the early 80s. 

Then through April it’s back into ‘Bealtaine Frolics’ including things that can be prepared with fun up until Bealtaine is upon us, and this involves Native Trees too :-) 

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