In this project, we reforested a field of approximately 1.5 acres with 1000 native trees. This site is in the townland of Funshin More, just south of Kinvara.
Project Story
Upon learning about our Miyawaki reforestation project, the organisation Reforest Nation reached out to us in November 2021 to offer a further 1000 trees. One of our members mentioned that his friend owned several fields that he wished to reforest, so we made contact with him and arranged an ecological assessment of the site.
The site was deemed to be suitable for planting. However, the presence of a local hare family meant that we needed to source guards for the trees, to protect them from damage, while allowing the hares to continue enjoying the field as a whole. As luck would have it, a local architect who has planted tens of thousands of trees on his land over the past few decades offered to donate 1000 used wire guards.
In January 2022, in the weeks before the trees arrived, several volunteers spent a few dry days assembling these wire guards, so that they would be ready in advance of our planting sessions. Many local groups, schools and individuals also dedicated time to help the project by creating mulch-mats from waste cardboard.
Then, on the 2nd of February, 1000 native saplings arrived in Kinvara, ready for planting. These saplings consisted of the following native species: Pedunculate Oak, Hazel, Scots Pine, Silver Birch, Wild Cherry, Rowan and Hawthorn (we also plan to add Holly and Goat Willow during the next planting season).
We arranged three planting sessions on days that were forecast to be dry over the following two weeks. Many local groups were involved, including the Kinvara Tidy Towns, Kinvara Earthkeepers, the Dolmen Centre, and Northampton National School.
So far, the trees are fairing very well, and the guards have kept them protected from any damage. The cardboard mulch-mats, four months later, are also mostly still intact, and are helping to suppress weeds around the base of each sapling. The areas around the trees were allowed to grow into a rich meadow, to support our local pollinators.