Anja Murray: We need to recognise the value of our native hazel woodlands

Many native woodlands, such as those rich in hazel, are a natural ally in both mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change

If you tap a catkin when the pollen is ripe, it will release a yellow dust of microscopic pollen grains, each grain bearing the tree’s male DNA. Picture: iStock

We have the lowest cover of native woodlands in Europe, with the exception of Malta. Colonial clearances are often cited as the reason that Ireland was left with only 1% of woodland cover by 1900. But now, after a full century of independence, we still have only 11% of woodland cover. Only about 2% of this is native woodland, the remainder is dominated by plantations of North American Sitka spruce and other exotic conifer species.

By contrast, hazel woods tend to exist only in tiny forgotten pockets in inaccessible places where it is a matter of chance that they have survived.