Whilst it is more than possible to contract with a forestry company to deliver the project end to end, we opted to do as much of the project as we could with our neighbours, friends and families. That decision turned out better than we could have hoped. We had 20+ people contribute time over a few weekends and the whole process turned into a great social experience. “It’s the same fun I remember from a day in the bog as a girl” said one of our neighbours over a cup of tea and some fruit cake! None of the work was too physically hard and everyone contributed in whatever way they wanted. The stories and good memories we all took away were priceless.

The NTA scheme dictates that all trees must be of certified Irish origin and come with appropriate traceability. The exception to the “must be Irish” rule seems to be Oak. Irish sessile oak in particular was hard to find that year and it appears lots of the oak being planted in 2023/24 will have been imported from the UK. To qualify for NTA grant aid the broad mix of trees is pre specified. If planting on wet mineral land the predominant species must be alder followed by birch and oak. For planting on dry(er) mineral land, like ours, the main species must be oak, birch and scots pine. We also chose to include a wide range of other native species though not every species was available in Winter 2023.

We sourced all the trees in Ireland (big thanks to None so Hardy and Wild Oaks).

We also chose to use tree guards/shelters. While this was not strictly required under the NTA we believe it was a worthwhile investment. The land itself is quite rough and for future weed control the guards should give the trees protection as well as make weed management more possible. The shelters will also offer some prootection from hares and/or the odd stray visiting deer.