Carbery, its long-time partner SWS Forestry and new partner the Green Economy Foundation have launched an initiative to plant a further 60,000 trees on farms as part of the latest West Cork Trees Project.

Since the launch of the initiative in 2016, 45,000 trees have been planted across west Cork farms to date.

The new 60,000 target for the West Cork Trees Project has been enabled through funding awarded under the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Programme, using the European Innovation Partnerships (EIP) Scheme.

The launch took place on the farm of Carbery supplier John Hurley, Dunmanway.

Carbery suppliers

Each of Carbery’s 1,200 suppliers will receive 50 trees (oak, birch, white thorn, black thorn), which will be made available to them for free via their local co-op.

The trees will be distributed in early January.

The initiative’s aim is to address climate change at a local level by offsetting carbon emissions.

Carbery says farmers can also look forward to dedicated workshops on protecting and enhancing the biodiversity on their farms in 2022 as part of the project.