We are collaborating with Fingal County Council, the Swords Woodland Association, and local schools for the purposes of this initiative. The event shares a date with the Climate March and with Culture Night Dublin. To join us at County Hall, Swords on Friday 23rd September 10 – 1 p.m. please email orla@easytreesie.com with SIGNUP in the subject line as places are limited for our Plant-A-Tree Day event. We wish further to acknowledge the support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in our project as well – of course – as Crann – Trees for Ireland.
The context in which the event is taking place, why the activity is needed, and what volunteers will be doing during the activity;
The Irish are also known as the “Gael” meaning “Tree People”. We will celebrate our tree heritage through a distribution of heritage orchard trees to promote the establishment of orchards in the Fingal area, targeting the greater Swords area in particular. We will share our tree planting art, poetry and film. The activity is needed as while we will have run 5 Dublin City Culture Night events in by Q4 2022 in collaboration with our Heritage Council An Taisce’s Climate Ambassador Programme, the Health Services Executive and Patagonia Dublin, we have yet to engage with Fingal County Council for this national celebratory event to date. With war in Europe and the associated disruption in supply chains as well as the effects of the British exit from the EU, food security is seen as an issue of renewed importance. Food poverty is another issue in the news here as families struggle to pay increased bills especially for fuel and local orchards with the low food-miles associated with harvesting is a popular choice for many in Ireland this year.
The potential biodiversity, water health, soil improvement and air quality benefits related to this activity? Please be specific to the local environment.
Biodiversity will be enhanced through establishing new fruit and nut orchard habitats. Air quality will be enhanced by this urban tree project in relation to filtration of air removing particulates from traffic and home heating fuels for example. Soil improvement will result from soil anchoring through the root systems of these orchards on locations prone to flooding and riparian areas. We have several existing projects within the Ward River Valley which runs through Swords town.
The Arts are central to Irish society and harnessing culture night to win hearts and minds of communities is vital in a country where trees (believe it or not) are not always welcomed for a variety of historical reasons, chiefly a story where the island of Ireland had only 1.5% tree canopy cover a century ago and which now has a mere 12% tree cover, joint lowest in Europe. Ireland has a more indoor culture than many other regions due to our frequent rainfall and it can be a challenge to entice us outside. Many of our young people are not getting the recommended weekly levels of exercise as reported in the Irish Times in recent weeks;
https://www.irishtimes.com/health/2022/08/26/children-and-teens-not-getting-recommended-levels-of-physical-activity-study/ and tree planting and maintenance, we have found, is an activity that encourages youngsters to engage in wholesome outdoor exercise, even those who are not engaged in traditional organised sports.
What are the potential benefits for people in the community? This can be related to local aesthetics, job training, health and wellness, etc. Please be specific to the local context. We define “Environmental Justice” as improving and maintaining a clean and healthful environment, especially for those who have traditionally lived, worked and played closest to sources of pollution.
Yes; there are historical and new issues for this community in relation to environmental justice. The opening of a new runway at Dublin airport has meant that members of this community will be affected by increased noise and tree planting can assist with a measure of mitigation not just of the noise but in providing a more serene natural environment. Recognising the impact of the airport on the surrounding community, the Dublin Airport Authority has already grant-funded our project in this area with planting tool kits.There are areas of quite dense housing in this community with areas which would be greatly enhanced by the addition of new trees.
30 trees will be allocated as part of this initiative of the following varieties;
Apple and other fruit trees dependent on availability at the nurseries typically damson, cherry, pear, hazel
Staking will be provided where necessary with tree guards if required; Watering, mulching, weeding needs will be taken into account.
Light refreshments such as hot chocolate/chocolate will be served on the day.
We are proud to collaborate again with our partners
Plant a Tree Day 2022
Their Plant a Tree Day initiative is back! This year’s initiative will take place from September 19th – October 31st and we are delighted to take part this first time.
We are grateful to the T-shirt company, North Strand for provision of our team kit to keep us snug this planting season.
What we ask:
☼ We will be taking photos of this event, please come with a smile!
☼ Social media posts tagged with #onetreeplanted
☼ Event material states One Tree Planted as Sponsor
☼ We will be completing a follow-up form detailing key metrics and the success of the overall activity
#restore
We look forward to our tree planting and restoration event!
🌿💚🌳
Organization Name *
Organization Website *
Country *
Province / State *
City / Town *
Event Date *
Event Start and End Times * 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Maximum Capacity of Volunteers * 50
Event Location * Fingal County Hall
Please provide the full event address;
Fingal County Council
County Hall, Main Street, Swords
County Dublin
K67 X8Y2
Google Maps Link of Event Location * https://goo.gl/maps/DCHqnbrgHtUi2JTb6
Type of Activity *
Please select all that apply.
Select an option
Event Description *
Ecological Impacts of the Event *
Community Impacts of the Event *
Does your event address environmental justice? *
How many trees / shrubs / plants, if any, will be planted? *30
Please specify how many of each plant type. Mixed fruit and nut
What species of trees / shrubs / plants, if any, will be planted? * As available
Please specify each plant type.
Please consult our post-planting maintenance guide below. What activities will you be undertaking to ensure the plants survive and thrive? *
Covid-19 safety precautions will be taken to ensure that volunteers and staff are not exposed to the virus in compliance with all national guidelines in place.
We’ve come such a long way since our first Major Event with Swords Woodland Association; http://swordswoodland.ie/saplings-for-science-week-2019/
How lovely to be collaborating anew now that the Covid-19 restrictions permit this gradual re-opening of events.
Easy Treesie 