Press Article "See the Wood for the Trees"

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With the bitterly cold weather recently, many will have been reminded again of one of the many benefits of trees: shelter. Tree cover helps to moderate the air temperature and stop the wind. Farmers will be well aware of the habit of sheep and other animals to move towards trees and woodlands in stormy weather. Indeed experiments have proved that appropriate shelter can actually increase the milk yield of dairy cows, largely by allowing them to devote more of their energies to producing milk rather then keeping warm.

Away from the fields, trees have long been used to provide the same benefits to our own homes. Planted close to houses, trees can look wonderful as well as reducing heating bills and providing a much sought-after woodland habitat for wildlife. A new house will settle into the landscape much more quickly if there is a woodland maturing beside it. Imaginative planting carried out in centuries past at both our grandest houses and traditional farmhouses have helped to give them the unique character they have today.

It often surprises people how quickly trees start to make a significant impact on the local environment, perhaps as a habitat for birds, or simply as a stable visual element in ourincreasingly fast-paced lives. A baregrass field can be transformed in less than 10 years.

With grant aid and advice from the Forest Service, dreams of owning a woodland are within the reach of anyone with half an acre of ground to plant (areas smaller than this, or less than 20m wide, are not eligible). If you plant more, you may be eligible to receive an annual payment for up to 15 years as well. The Forest Service actively encourages the use of broadleaved species for the greater environmental benefits they provide.

Contact your local Private Woodlands Officer or Forest Service Headquarters for details of the Forestry Grant Schemes available and how to apply (see below). The schemes are part funded by the European Union under the Rural Development Regulation Plan for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Programme for Building Sustainable Prosperity.

There are also various forestry and conservation companies and organisations that can process your application for you and carry out the work. Look them up in Yellow Pages.

But hurry! It can take 8 weeks or more to process applications and the planting season will be mostly over by May.

Co Londonderry/Derry and Co Antrim
Andrew Clark 02829 556000
North District Forest Office, Garvagh andrew.clark@dardni.gov.uk

Co Down
Ralph Barron 02890 647263
Belvoir Park Forest, Belfast ralph.barron@dardni.gov.uk

Co Armagh, Co Fermanagh & Co Tyrone
Catriona MacLennan 02866 325004
West District Forest Office, Enniskillen catriona.maclennan@dardni.gov.uk

Forest Service Headquarters
02890 524448 or 524466
Room 23, Dundonald House, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast BT4 3SB.