Says St Ledger: “The actual percentage of native trees in Ireland is quite low, it’s around 1 percent.”
“The authentic landscape of Ireland is western Atlantic temperate rainforest, dominated by oak. Most Coillte plantations are tree farms. Our hills are covered with exotic conifers that basically acidify the soil, don’t provide much of a haven for wildlife, and deny Irish people their cultural heritage.
“The Government have done little. They restored 13 native woodland sites that were on their property, through EU funding. Bravo. But we would say there’s no long-term management plan to secure them.”
The Woodland League focuses its efforts on small scale planting. One success was
the “treestoration” of a former quarry in Broadford, Co Limerick, which was being used as a dump. The group planted Willow to help clean up the oil slicks, and native yew trees to deal with the asbestos. It is now the home to many species and provides a 30ft canopy.
“We are optimistic our native forests will return,” says St Ledger. “It will be a slow process and will have to be mostly achieved by the people themselves. We are a forest people without a forest. But not forever.”
Walsh, J. (2014). Bringing Ireland’s ancient oak trees back to life. Recuperado de: https://www.irishcentral.com/news/bringing-irelands-ancient-oak-trees-back-to-life.
Equipo 4
Irish Oak Trees
Semillas del Mañana