National Tree Week celebrates all things trees and returns this week running from Sunday 31 March until Sunday 7 April.

The week-long programme of events has been organised by the Tree Council of Ireland every year since 1985 and it is run in association with Coillte and Forest Industries Ireland.

There are a series of tree planting ceremonies planned for a number of counties along with a range of events including forest and woodland walks, nature trails, and woodturning displays.

Planting trees

Peadar Conway and Dominic Cassidy from Conway Trees and Hedging gave the Irish Farmers Journal a short tutorial about planting trees, which could come in useful if you are planning on doing something similar.

Farm trees

Many farms in Ireland have mature deciduous trees dating back 150 to 200 years and some are even older still.

As Peter Varley says in this week’s Your Farm, the people who planted these trees would never live to see them fully mature, but still took the time and effort to sow them to benefit future generations.

As trees fall over time they become a valuable source of timber for fire wood.

Planting trees on the farm creates a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy. Trees play a vital role in the environment by taking in harmful pollutants and releasing clean oxygen. They also enrich biodiversity acting as a home for birds, small mammals, insects and fungi.