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Glenveagh National Park in County Donegal has been improved with a host of newly planted native Irish Scots Pine trees.
Led by National Parks and Wildlife Service staff, the project saw 2,000 trees planted in the Upper Glen area of the park.
While Scots Pine of Scottish origin have been present in the park since the 1860s, the recently-planted trees are of native Irish origin, sourced from a nursery grower in County Galway who collected the pine seed in the Burren National Park, under licence from the National Parks and Wildlife Service. This native Scots Pine woodland in Glenveagh is the first step in a wider native woodland conservation programme in Glenveagh National Park that will focus on the long-term vision of creating favourable conditions for natural woodland habitat within the park. Ongoing measures to curb invasive species, deer management and the creation of a tree nursey in the park are also part of this conservation effort.
The establishment of a native Irish Scots Pine population at Glenveagh National Park will help to ensure the survival of the native Irish Scots pine and, in years to come, the seed from these trees will be an invaluable source for future generations of the species. The planting location, in a 1.6 hectare field next the Stalking Hut in the upper Glen, has been carefully chosen to ensure the trees will grow well and produce good seed. To establish good woodland, the soil must be suitable and the trees must be safe from grazing deer.
Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan TD said: "Scots Pine is a tree species native to Ireland and its reintroduction to one of our six national parks is testament to the work our National Parks and Wildlife Service is doing to restore native woodlands. Woodland is home to a wealth of wildlife and supports other plants, birds and insects in these ecosystems. I am proud of the work of our teams on the ground in Glenveagh and look forward to seeing these trees develop into a woodland of native Irish trees restoring some of Glenveagh's natural heritage and paying tribute to its history."
