Trees Please: Volunteers aim to improve biodiversity in Cork city

A voluntary environmental group are putting out the call to those with space for a tree in their city gardens, as they are trying to make Cork city centre more beautiful and biodiverse.

Trees Please Cork are a voluntary group that are dedicated to planting as many native Irish trees as they can.

Their latest project involves planting small trees in little pockets of garden space around the city, which could add up to a major impact on the overall tree coverage in Cork.

Tom Campbell, a member of Trees Please, said the city garden project is their main focus for the upcoming planting season.

“We want to give trees to people who have a relatively small space, or even bigger gardens, that might be a bit bare. 

"One tree would make that garden more beautiful, and even if 150 trees were planted around the city in people's gardens, within five or six years that's going to start making the whole city more beautiful,” he said.

Trees Please are offering the likes of hawthorn, rowan, birch, and crab apple trees, that are relatively small in size. They are also happy to provide information and advice to anyone who wants a tree for their garden.

The group have supplied trees in the past for the likes of St Mary’s Health Care Campus, the Glen Park, Togher community garden, and an Educate Together School in Mayfield.

Mr Campbell explained that city gardens could provide a safer environment for young trees than other larger scale planting projects they have been involved in.

“For example, we planted around 200 trees in the Glen Park, but there was quite a lot of bracken and also fire. In the first four or five years it’s a bit of a battle to get trees growing,” he said.

He said that planting trees in city gardens could not only benefit the growth of young trees themselves, but also have great health benefits for garden owners.

“There's loads of research about trees in cities improving the standard of living. If things continue to get a lot hotter in the summer, a tree will give you shade. It’s also been shown that if you're in hospital and you get access to trees, it actually improves your rate of recovery,” he said.

Trees Please are putting out the call now for those with city gardens who are interested in a tree, and will begin planting come February of next year.

The group relies on fundraisers and donations, so in return for a city garden tree, Trees Please are asking for a voluntary donation of any amount, all of which will go back into buying more trees to plant across Cork.

Anyone who is interested in a tree for their city garden can contact Trees Please at treespleasecork@gmail.com.