Northern Ireland fit out specialist Mivan has planted over 500 trees as part of a new woodland habitat.

As a part of the firm's commitment to sustainability, Mivan will plant 400,000 trees by 2035. Mivan has decided to plant a proportion with Mivan Staff as volunteers in collaboration with Farming Carbon to replenish native woodland species in Northern Ireland.

This week, they planted 550 native trees to create a seven species woodland in a wild strip on the edge of an arable farm. The site has a waterway running down one side, and rose up a hill into drier, stonier ground. The woodland species included Oak, Scot's pine, Birch, Sweet cherry, Rowan, Alder and Willow.

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Each of the tree species has a different life span, and were planted in 2m spacing. The Birch and Alder will live for 60 years, while the Oak and Scot's Pine should still be standing after 600. This variation of lifespan means that planting in March 2023 could provide a habitat and a home to generations of wildlife for the next few centuries, and the woodland will continue to grow and change in that time.

This year there has been an additional 100 Northern Irish wildlife species added to the "under threat" list. Part of the reason we are losing species, is due to a decline in safe habitat for them. Creating woodlands locally provides new habitats for wildlife, which means that communities can continue to experience diversity in wildlife. Planting trees has a benefit in terms of carbon drawdown and retention, 63% of the trees planted were hardwoods each of which will sequester 1 tonne of carbon per year for the next 100 years.