Native Woodland Trust is branching out in Lecarrow

An Irish environmental charity whose sole aim is to protect what remains of Ireland's native woodlands is setting down roots in South Roscommon.

The Native Woodland Trust (NWT) says it aims to expand and regenerate woodland with the help of their members and local volunteers.

To do this, the charity purchases reserve sites countrywide inside, or as near as possible, to some of the oldest woodlands, and using local provenance nursery projects helps them expand and grow.

In Lecarrow, the NWT now has two reserve sites, one covering eleven acres inside St John's Wood, one of Ireland's largest ancient woodlands, and a second just outside, some 500 metres away from the southern border covering a further 17 acres. The latter site is currently one third grazing pasture managed as a wildflower meadow, one third agricultural grassland enclosed by mature trees and hedgerows, and the final section is wooded with native trees, shrubs, old stone buildings and an ancient lake pier. The eastern part of this land is in the Lough Ree Area of Conservation.

Both reserves were purchased from private landowners.

Local branches are a new concept for the NWT and the project is being headed up by Engagement Officer Jeremy Casey. He hopes that among other benefits for nature and local communities, the local branch may act as the link that binds the trust, the reserves and the local community together with a shared objective.

The Roscommon branch held its first meeting in late September, and another is planned later this month. The idea is that members will adopt the sites in a bid to protect them from harm, neglect or development.

Whether it’s helping ancient woodlands to expand for the first time in hundreds of years or planting brand new native woodlands, the NWT likes to involve local volunteers every step of the way by doing things like collecting native seed from our oldest woodlands, planting them out and looking after them while they establish. The group also hosts a wide range of educational events that suit all ages – it’s all about creating spaces that serve nature and local communities.

The NWT is appealing to the public to get involved, as they set up the first locally led branches with the aim of ensuring local communities get the maximum benefit from the ongoing woodland expansion at the sites in Westmeath and Roscommon. In Lecarrow, the next NWT branch meeting will take place on November 29 in St John's Community Centre at 7pm. Over in Kilbeggan, the meeting revolves around the seven acre Ardan Wood Reserve between Kilbeggan and Tyrrellspass takes place in parish centre in Kilbeggan on November 28 at 7pm.

One of their first objectives as a branch is to complete the installation of our local provenance nursery site inside the reserve, according to Mr Casey which will allow them to speed up production of trees and shrubs grown from seed collected from neighbouring ancient woodland sites (including St John’s Wood). The resulting trees and shrubs will be planted out and form the beginnings of an ancient woodland expansion project.

St John’s Wood is acknowledged as a hugely important native woodland and an incredibly important fragment of what once was, at time when tree cover in Ireland is less than 2% of the landmass. Of that, ancient woodland makes up less than 0.2% of this total.

The NWT believes, by expanding the woodland expansion in Lecarrow and elsewhere via the Local Provenance Nurseries Programme that, not only will the charity restore the site back to its natural state effectively expanding St John’s Wood, but that it will do so with seed that contains ancient woodland DNA and shares a genetic memory of local conditions with their parent trees/shrubs ensuring they will thrive in their new home.

Prior to Christmas, the Roscommon branch will hold a holly seed collection on November 26 and holly seed planting on December 4.