People’s Picnic and Treeplanting at Ringaskiddy, Co Cork

cork | environment | event notice Thursday November 22, 2007 19:48 by John

Come plant trees at Ringaskiddy
Sat 1st Dec, 1pm onwards
Meet at Gobby Strand car park (straight through Ringaskiddy village from Cork to carpark as road bends left towards Haulbowline)

No incinerators in Cork, Meath or Dublin
Solidarity with Erris and other communities in struggle
Stop destroying Tara
Yes to people’s forest in Cork harbour
Time to seize the future

Plant trees, enjoy the fresh air, meet like-minded people, share ideas and make plans.
Please bring picnic food to share, appropriate clothing, tools and trees to plant.
Share car space, bring your friends.

As the incinerator issue comes back onto the agenda and communities across the country stand up against unjust developments we go to the proposed incinerator site at Ringaskiddy to affirm our commitment to a sustainable future and our solidarity with others in the same position.

This is the fourth year in succession that people have gathered at the proposed incinerator site at Ringaskiddy to plant trees in belief in a better world and in resistance to the degradation of our communities and environment.

This action is to move towards this saner world. Trees have the capacity to absorb carbon and other particles from the air. They increase soakage of water into the soil and so reduce flooding and help recharge aquifers, they act as supporters of biodiversity, provide us with food, fuel and medicines, in enough quantity they can even stabilize climate. Perhaps most importantly, being so much longer lived than ourselves they give us a sense of the future beyond our limited human life-spans. To survive the next decades we must plan and organize beyond them. Perhaps trees can help give us this sense of perspective.

Notes on treeplanting.
Never feel you need ask permission to plant a tree. This is a highly personal action between you and the Earth, no-one has the right to interfere. We would like to see massive, spontaneous plantings of trees all across the country. Having said that a certain amount of sensitivity to and knowledge of local circumstances and to the trees themselves will go a long way in ensuring the trees you plant thrive.

Species:
Generally, stick to native species rather than introducing exotics to an area although given climate change and the unpredictability of the future there is an argument for experimenting with others. It’s helpful to look at trees already growing in an area and use them as a guide for species to plant.
Suggested species for Ringaskiddy are willow , hazel, alder and birch for the damp areas,
For the drier area perhaps,hawthorn, blackthorn, crab apples, wild pear, oak, ash, holm oak, we could also try planting sweet chestnuts and walnuts which may be a valuable food crop in the future.

Planting tips:
It’s important to look at aspect and drainage. The Ringaskiddy site is mainly east facing which means it gets good sun in the morning and it’s close to the sea but is fairly sheltered because of the harbour. You may also notice it’s very damp at the bottom of the hill at this time of year.
This land is also used for grazing cattle which means we have to be cunning as to how we plant as cows can damage young trees. A tactic that has worked well so far is to make keyhole openings into the gorse and brambles into which we plant our trees and then allow them to grow up around the tree thus protecting it. The danger here is that the brambles etc grow up too vigorously and smother the tree so it’s good if you can call back once or twice a year to check on your tree and clear around it a bit. It will appreciate the attention.

Size:
When planting think about the eventual size your tree will grow to. This has implications if you are planting close to buildings or structures (some buildings could do with being overrun by trees in my opinion) but also for other trees and plants. As a general rule plant larger trees towards the north, away from the sun and yr smaller ones at the front so that they are not overshadowed by the larger ones.

There’s a lot more to this obviously but the best thing is to learn by doing, plant a tree, come back and visit it, build a relationship with the place and the others who use it. This means that if it is ever under threat there will be people who care enough to stand up together and protect it. This is an important aspect of campaigning often forgotten in the struggle. We have to put energy into what we want.