ESB Tree Week, organised by the Tree Council of Ireland  is a week long programme of events to celebrate trees. To be part of ESB Tree Week, the Tree Council of Ireland invites individuals and groups  to organise one or more events for the week. Tree Week runs from Sunday, 6 March until Sunday, 13 March and is sponsored by the ESB in association with Coillte.

In Ireland we need a lot more trees planted for their economic, environmental and amenity benefits. With greenhouse gas emissons and climate change becoming a major issue,  growing more trees can help  storig carbon. Tree week can bring  a focus on trees at a time when many more people venture out of doors after the winter.

As well as tree planting ceremonies, there are a range of events of events that can be organised. These include forest and woodland walks, nature trails, workshops, woodturning displays, talks, tree climbing, broadcasts, launches, poetry readings, exhibitions,  competitions and tree planting events where communities are challenged to plant a target number of trees on a designated local site over a fixed time period. You can register your event so that other people can come and join you!  See http://www.treecouncil.ie.

In schools, typical activities for tree week might be planting a tree, drawing pictures or making leaf prints or bark rubbings of trees, read or write poems or stories about trees, learning  how to measure the height and spread of a tree and producing  a class drama about trees. Organisations such as local residents association, tidy towns groups, youth clubs, sports clubs or other local organisation could get their members involved in a tree planting or tree maintenance project such as a clean-up of a local woodland in the local area. Individuals could organise a community tree-planting event or organise a walk or trail to showcase local trees.

Monaghan County Council Support Tree Week

Monaghan County Council will have a number of saplings (mixed native species) to give to community projects during Tree Week. Contact Fionnuala Mulligan, tel 047 73720 email fmulligan@monaghancoco.ie. To see events already planned to take place in Co Monaghan see listing of events at http://www.treecouncil.ie.

Planting native trees in Castleblayney recently were members of Castleblayney Community Gardeners. From left: Liam Murtagh, Máire Breheny, Eilish Stewart, Dympna Fee and Francis McElroy.

Events in March can be found here