Forests for the Future

Forest in a Box

National Tree Week 2024 took place from Saturday 23rd November – Sunday the 1st of December. To mark National Tree Week 2024 Belfast Hills Partnership revisited their Forest in a Box project one year later to mark its progress.

Forest in a Box
Forests for the future growing at Euston Street Primary School

The Forest in a Box project was launched during National Tree Week 2023. The project has a very simple concept; it is a mini forest in a box. Each box is 1m x 1m in size and is packed with soil & leaf litter. During last year’s Tree Week boxes were delivered to both Edgcumbe Day Centre and Euston Street Primary School. Here Belfast Hills Partnership supplied a variety of locally collected hazelnuts and acorns which were planted by service users and students who took responsibility for caring for the seeds during the past year.

The results from the first year during Tree Week were astonishing. Both Euston Street Primary School and Edgcumbe boasted a mix of around 60 oak and hazel saplings. Both groups are keeping some saplings to improve the biodiversity of their grounds whilst the rest of the trees made their way over to the Belfast Hills Partnership’s Native Tree Nursery. Here they will grow for a further year under the care of a group of Volunteers before they are planted across the wider Belfast area, providing landscape connectivity and habitats for wildlife.

Back from the Edge

Local Primary School children and service users have been consolidating for the future of the planet through the Forest in a Box scheme. 2024 has seen an increase in extreme and unpredictable weathers as a result of climate change. Trees are viewed as one of a number of measured to mitigate against the climate crisis.

Indeed, the benefits to planting trees are numerous; they reduce carbon in the atmosphere, reduce flooding, and increase urban cooling. Additionally, they support and enhance biodiversity which is crucial to addressing the biodiversity crisis across Northern Ireland and beyond.

Pupils from Euston Street Primary School were particularly interested in seeing how the saplings that they nurtured will have a lasting legacy right across Belfast for years to come.

‘The Eco Committee at Euston Street PS took part in harvesting the saplings planted last year in their Forest Box. The pupils really enjoyed learning about the many benefits that trees have. Laura helped them identify their saplings and the new seeds to be planted for the incoming year. They harvested almost 60 saplings that will eventually be planted all around Belfast.’ – Emma Staples, Euston Street PS (P7/ECO teacher)

Euston Street Primary School’s Eco Club sow the seeds for another mini forest to flourish
Service Users at Edgcumbe Day Centre get stuck in assisting with the Forest in a Box project

Many more seeds were planted during National Tree Week 2024 and it is hoped that the next cycle of this project will continue on for another year.

One Million Trees

The Forest in a Box project makes up a small part of Belfast City Council’s One Million Trees. One Million Trees is a key programme to support climate adaptation across the city. It is hoped that there will be one million native trees planted across the city by 2035. Belfast Hills Partnership are proud to be one of many partner organisations involved in this ambitious project. You can learn more about One Million Trees by visiting the Belfast City Council website.

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