Host of events to celebrate National Tree Week

Music to celebrate the sound of trees, poetry in forests and trees planted to remember people who died by suicide are just a few of the dozens of events being held around the country this week to mark National Tree Week.

The week, which is organised by the Tree Council of Ireland, also includes lectures and walks, some of which will look at the damage done by the recent storms. Coillte has donated 15,000 saplings for planting.

On Wednesday, 25 oak trees will be planted in Dublin’s Phoenix Park while on Friday, three rowan trees will be planted by Tallaght Community Council to mark those who have died by suicide in the area.

All week, an exhibition of the OneTree365 project will run in Charlestown Arts Centre in the Co Mayo town. It features 365 images of a single tree photographed each day for a year by Ciarán Burke.

On Saturday, a concert celebrating the sounds of trees will be held in Sandford Parish Church in Ranelagh and will include an introduction by Tree Council president Eanna Ní Lamhna.

Nature walk

Also on Saturday, people are invited to walk through the Riverhollow nature reserve in Co Kilkenny. It includes a chance to see rock art dating back 4,000 years.

Andrew St Ledger of the Woodland League encouraged people to support the week, saying our native woodlands were the richest land-based habitat for biodiversity on the planet and needed to be protected.

Next Sunday he will take a group on a walk in Raheen Wood, Co Clare, which will lead to the famous Brian Boru oak. This tree is thought to be 1,000 years old. An oak tree grown from acorns collected in the wood will be planted to mark the legacy of Brian Boru.

Launching the week in Powerscourt estate, Wicklow, yesterday, Minister of State with responsibility for forestry Tom Hayes said Ireland's forests represented just 1 per cent of our land area a century ago. "Decades of investment in afforestation has helped to increase that to 10.5 per cent," he said.