Forestry - Goverened by the Seasons

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Forestry, like farming and gardening, is an activity governed by the seasons. For anyone interested in planting trees with grant aid from the Forest Service, now is the time to start thinking about applying. Areas of at least 0.2ha (½ acre) are eligible for aid under the Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS), in addition, areas of farmland 1ha (2½ acres) or more may be eligible for annual payments under the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme (FWPS).

For an application pack, contact the Forest Service at Private Woodlands and Plant Health, Room 23, Dundonald House, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast BT4 3SB. Telephone 028 9052 4466 or e-mail grants@forestserviceni.gov.uk. Or for further information click on 'Private Woodlands' at www.forestserviceni.gov.uk

Reasons for planting are diverse. Farmers may have a field which is distant from the main farm, or otherwise difficult to access, which would suit a low-intensity enterprise such as forestry. An obvious objective is to provide shelter, be it for stock or buildings. You may wish to simply 'make your mark' on the landscape (Northern Ireland is one of the least forested areas in Europe), or provide a haven for woodland wildlife.

Planting trees, whilst not exactly 'rocket science', is a specialist business and advice is available free from professional foresters at the Forest Service when you apply. There are also a number of private forestry companies carrying out establishment and maintenance work on plantations, the cost of which may be partly or fully covered by the aforementioned grant schemes. A list of contractors and suppliers is available from the Forest Service. So you have no excuse for not planting a woodland this winter!

The wonderful thing about forestry is that all of these objectives, and many more, can be met in the same woodland. Timber production does not have to rule out the many other benefits of woodland. Indeed, it may be that timber is far from people’s minds when they think about planting trees. However, it would be a missed opportunity if there was not at least the expectation that there will be some timber produced from those trees, at some point in the future. Northern Ireland, the UK and Ireland as a whole, have to import vast quantities of timber each year because we do not produce enough of it ourselves. And with the recent surge in public opinion towards the advantages of locally produced products, with the environmental and social benefits they bring to rural areas, it is about time locally produced timber products entered our homes more in the form of furniture, flooring and other goods.

All media enquiries to DARD Press Office Tel: 028 9052 4619.