Commitment to plant more trees

Commitment to plant more trees

19 February 2025

ALMOST one month after Storm Éowyn brought down thousands of trees across the district, local councillors are to double down on their commitment to see them replanted.

Tonight, they will reaffirm a commitment to continue planting a huge number of trees as part of a new strategy to boost the environment and reduce the district’s carbon footprint.

Members of Newry, Mourne and Down Council’s Sustainability and Environment Committee will discuss a motion calling for the local authority to recognise the vital role trees play in enhancing the health and wellbeing of local people and communities, addressing climate change and supporting biodiversity

Tabled by Mournes councillor, Jill Truesdale, the motion urges the council to commit to raising awareness among residents and to support efforts to plant and protect trees, ensuring everyone can share in the benefits they provide.

The local council has already signed up to plant tens of thousands of trees across the district as part of an initiative designed to help address mounting climate change concerns and lay a foundation that will meet the needs of future generations.

In addition, the local authority has already signed up to help tackle the climate emergency and is acutely aware of the crucially important role of trees in helping mitigate the impact of climate change, flooding and pollution control.

Council officials recognise that an expansive planting programme will create numerous benefits, including improved air and water quality and improving the climate and even play a key role boosting people’s physical and mental health and sense of wellbeing, contributing to their quality of life.

Trees are also at the heart of the local authority’s biodiversity strategy.

Focusing on five themes including trees and woodland, pollinators, invasive species, education and awareness, the strategy outlines clear, practical steps which the local authority will take to protect, enhance and restore biodiversity. 

The strategy is designed to ensure the council’s green spaces will be managed more effectively for the benefit of both wildlife and the local community across an area renowned for its stunning landscapes, scenery and unique biodiversity. 

Northern Ireland is one the lest wooded regions in Europe with just 8.7% of woodland, compared to a European average of 37%. In Newry, Mourne and Down, the level of tree cover is almost 5.6%.

The local authority is to work alongside the Woodland Trust and aims to forge links with other councils, the Environment Agency, Mourne Heritage Trust, Forest Service, RSPB, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and universities.

Interestingly, there is very little tree cover in the Mourne area in particular, with the development of a tree strategy viewed as part of the local authority’s wider climate adaption policies.

The EU has declared a “global climate and environment emergency” and is committing all countries to commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Locally, council officials argue that the expansion and better management of effective tree and forestry cover is required and wants to work with the community in the planning process to create what it describes as “attractive places to live, work and visit” to help improve the district’s “exceptional landscapes”.

The focus will be on developing a new action plan involving mapping and studying the distribution and effectiveness of trees across the district and creating what has been described as a “healthy tree canopy” using climate and disease resilient species.

In addition, there will be a focus on tree protection orders and effective tree replacements to maintain the existing tree population.

The new tree strategy will drive how the council expands tree planting in urban areas and forests and better management of all trees and woodland moving forward.

In addition, Newcastle’s Donard Forest is to feature in a major new visitor management plan for the wider Mournes area, while plans were unveiled recently for a tree top walk in Castlewellan Forest Park.

And while Storm Éowyn brought down over 1,000 trees across the huge area of parkland recently, it’s been confirmed the damage has not impacted negatively on the proposal.

Elsewhere, NI Water is also doing its bit on the tree planting front.

The Fofanny water treatment works in the Mournes is one of a number of NI Water facilities across the province which features in an innovative new project to plant one million trees.

The scheme is designed to improve water quality, capture carbon, mitigate against floods and enhance the natural environment.

Trees have been planted at a near 15 acre site with NI Water planting tens of thousands of trees over the next decade as part of a large-scale programme across 11,300 hectares of land. 

Over the past 10 years, NI Water has planted over 150,000 trees in 24 drinking water catchments in Antrim and Armagh, but it plans to substantially ramp up the planting scheme over the next decade.

The organisation says that trees planted close to river banks help prevent erosion and as much of the water used for drinking water comes from rivers and lakes, trees act as a natural buffer.