🌱 Our Latest Biodiversity Week Events🌿
This year’s National Biodiversity Week was a vibrant opportunity for us at Easy Treesie – a Crann, Trees for Ireland Project to share practical knowledge, community experiences, and expert insights on how to care for young woodlands. From eco-friendly methods of weed control to safeguarding saplings from wildlife and human error, we were thrilled to bring our message to life through a series of engaging, well-attended webinars hosted by our great friends, the Tree Council of Ireland.
And the good news? The learning continues — with all our events recorded and freely available to view!
🌾 No Weeds, More Trees: Natural Methods for Protecting Young Woodlands
đź“… 20th May 2025
đź•™ 10:00 AM
Our first event explored how simple, spray-free approaches can support sapling growth — including a crowd favourite: grass trampling! It’s astonishing how such a humble activity can make a big difference, and it’s a task even small children can carry out with glee.
A powerful story emerged from one of our long-term Dublin school sites, where contractors unfamiliar with our methods had recently carried out strimming and then went on to spray ecocides, killing and damaging a large quantity of young trees. Thanks to this webinar, we now have a clear, visual resource to help prevent such losses from happening again — a compelling case for public education in sustainable tree care.
🛡️ Building a Moveable Shield: How to Keep Trees Safe from Wildlife Damage
đź“… 20th May 2025
đź•š 11:00 AM
Our second session took a deep dive into creating simple yet effective barriers against wildlife browsing. This year, we were especially pleased to welcome attendees from the GAA Green Clubs, with whom we planted 56,000 saplings in 2025 alone. We’re very grateful for their assistance with our project and especially with filming for this webinar, including some great drone footage.
The IEN platform was instrumental in helping us prepare. Having a set deadline motivated us to sift through hours of footage — some from 2024, some fresh from this spring — to create an interesting before-and-after juxtaposition. With limited time and many volunteers, it’s easy for valuable documentation to fall by the wayside. But this gave us a real incentive to prioritise storytelling through video.
🌳 Tree Rescue Mission: Preventing Strangulation & Ensuring Healthy Growth
đź“… 20th May 2025
đź•› 12:00 PM
Our final event was a masterclass in tree staking — and more importantly, unstaking. Led by our brilliant volunteer Aidan ffrench, who brings over 40 years of experience to the topic, this talk underscored the art and science of supporting trees just enough, and no more.
There’s a wealth of expertise in our volunteer network, and too often this knowledge remains unwritten or unshared. Events like this help preserve it for future generations — a critical counter to the “fake news” that sometimes circulates about tree issues. The thoughtful questions from participants were a testament to the interest and care our community brings to tree stewardship.
🎥 Continuing the Conversation: View Our Webinars
All three sessions are now available to view online via the Tree Council of Ireland’s Biodiversity Week Hub. Whether you’re a teacher, volunteer, community gardener, or just someone who loves trees, we invite you to share these resources widely.
đź’¬ Reflections and Feedback
We’re grateful for the support received through the IEN. While our funding didn’t fully cover the costs, the contribution allowed us to focus more on our mission — and that’s invaluable.
We also appreciate the social media support. As a children’s project, our online engagement is limited — we avoid encouraging minors to interact on social platforms. That’s why visibility through IEN’s channels is such a welcome bonus. Every share helps!
Our one big wish? More video storytelling. Capturing what’s happening in biodiversity projects around the country — through short reels, artist collaborations, even TikTok — would help bring the energy of Biodiversity Week into the rest of the year.
🌿 Thank You!
National Biodiversity Week 2025 was a fantastic showcase of grassroots action, shared wisdom, and community engagement. It’s inspiring to see so many related projects blooming across the country. We’re proud to be part of this growing movement — and we’re already looking forward to next year.
If you’re a teacher, community group, or local club looking to plant trees, check out easytreesie.com and get in touch. Together, we can grow a greener future, one sapling at a time. 🌱
Easy Treesie 