Beautiful Laragh in County Wicklow to have new native woodland

The Native Woodland Trust is delighted to announce the purchase of a new site (20 acres) in the beautiful picturesque location of Laragh, County Wicklow.  This site has fantastic views and is adjacent to The Wicklow Way.  This is in an area of extreme beauty and is the largest site owned by The Native Woodland Trust.

Over the next two years The Native Woodland Trust will start planting native trees at the site this will comprise of Oak, Ash, Birch, Alder, Blackthorn, Guelder Rose, Hawthorn, Hazel, Holly, Rowan, Spindle and Willow.  The Native Woodland Trust is a registered Irish non governmental charity with the aim of preserving Ireland’s ancient woodlands and the planting/creation of new ones.

Linda Lawlor, general manager with the Native Woodland Trust, explained: “Laragh is a very exciting purchase for the trust given its beautiful location.  It is in an area frequented by cyclists, tourists, hill walkers etc. so we would hope to generate a lot of interest in the planting of the trees and the maintaining of our new woodland”.

This woodland will be open to the public when developed and will have kissing gates, wooden benches, a wildflower meadow and a pathway which will lead visitors on a special woodland journey.  This will also provide a valuable habitat for numerous species of insects and birds.  As well as being a haven for wildlife, native trees and woods offer numerous benefits to people, providing places for quiet recreation and promoting a sense of well-being.  Although their vital role has never been more evident, Ireland remains one of the least wooded countries in Europe, with under 1 per cent native woodland cover compared to the European average of 44 per cent.

For further information visit www.nativewoodlandtrust.ie or telephone Linda Lawlor at the the Native Woodland Trust on 0868169924.

Notes to editors

For media enquiries contact:

Linda Lawlor at The Native Woodland Trust’s Office on 0868169924

Email lind...@nativewoodlandtrust.ie

The Woodland Trust:

The Native Woodland Trust is a registered Irish non-governmental charity CHY 14035.  Our aims are the preservation of Ireland’s ancient woodlands and the planting/creation of new ones.

The Trust has three key aims: i) to enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees ii) to protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future iii) to inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees

We are a relatively new organisation and at present own one other woodland called “Farnaght Wood” in County Leitrim which is 7.5 acres in size.  Access to our woodlands is completely free and to be enjoyed by all.

Over the past two years we have run two very successful projects called trees for schools and trees for secondary schools please see www.treesforschools.ie and www.treesforsecondaryschools.ie this resulted in one in four secondary schools receiving free trees for their schools as well as a large number of primary schools.