Versatile and sustainable: Here are five ways willow is used in ecological restoration

This tree is a perfect example of a renewable resource and it is used to help clean wastewater and stabilise riverbanks as well as being part of a natural flood management 

'Master basket maker' Joe Hogan among the willows in his Sally garden in Connemara. Picture: Brían MacGloinn

Willow is a tree with many uses. In Ireland we have about a dozen different native species of willow, though because different types mix together so easily, there are an uncountable number of hybrids, all quite difficult to tell apart.

Traditionally, willow has been used to weave baskets, a craft that goes back to the earliest humans. In Ireland, sally gardens were a feature of every townland, providing willow rods for hand baskets, donkey creels, lobster pots, and baskets for draining potatoes. Willow rods would be cut from the first moon in November, providing basket weaving materials through the winter months and baskets that would get replaced every few years. As a perfect example of a renewable resource, willow baskets are far more in keeping with nature than plastic bags, plastic nets — or even cardboard boxes.