Éanna Ní Lamhna on growing awareness of Ireland’s trees and woodland heritage

On National Tree Day, more than 2,000 primary schools will plant native holly saplings

The Tree Council of Ireland, supported by SPAR, is encouraging primary school children across the country to take the pledge and plant a tree on SPAR National Tree Day this Thursday, 6th October 2022. 

With the climate crisis continuing to unfold, and efforts to mitigate its impact being compromised by politics and ideology — see the push for a short-term liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal, or the refusal of the Government to keep data centres’ power usage in check — it’s more important than ever that emerging generations, keenly aware of the situation though they are, are informed of the natural world around them, from fauna to flora.

To that end, October 6 is National Tree Day, a day to educate and inform people of all ages on the biodiversity of Irish woodland areas, and the identification and propagation of Ireland’s native trees specifically. Éanna Ní Lamhna, president of the Tree Council of Ireland, discusses the initiative and its importance.