Tree Council of Ireland Tree Week Events at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin
Saturday 8th March – Sunday 16th March
Saturday 8th March, 11am
Public Lecture: Trees in Ireland – some distinguished natives and honoured guests, Mary Forrest
Organised with the Irish Garden Plant Society. This is a free event, no need to book
Sunday 9th to Friday 14th March, 11.30am & 3pm
National Tree Week Tours: Tree Lore – Myths and legends of Irish plants
Join us to discover botanical connections found across our native mythologies and folklore.
This tour will look at some of most iconic native plants as they wake from their winter slumber.
PLEASE NOTE:
This tour slot is intended for individuals and couples, families and friends etc.
For group bookings, please contact the Visitor Centre directly at botanicgardens@opw.ie or 01 804 0319.
Tours will take place with a minimum of 2 people.
€5 and children under 12 go free. Booking on Eventbrite.
Sunday 9th March, 3.00pm
The Tree Council of Ireland Annual Tree Week Lecture: Trees and Woodland Names in Irish Placenames, John McLoughlin, Society of Irish Foresters
While we have lost almost all of our native woodlands, we continue to have a record of their existence through our placenames. Did you know that in Ireland we currently have 328 baronies, 2,509 civil parishes and 61,119 townlands? It is estimated that 13,000 townlands or 20% are named after trees, groves of trees and the uses of trees. Since trees are highly visible in the landscape, it is not surprising that so many of our placenames have derived from trees and woods. Today, if a forest were to spring up everywhere there would be a tree associated name in a townland, and the country would once more be clothed with an almost uninterrupted succession of forests. Prior to road signs, with which we are so familiar today, natural, and manmade features were the only directional sources.
Placenames have been evolving since the dawn of Irish civilisation when most of the country was heavily forested and trees had a prominent role in the economy. Trees provided raw materials, medicine, weapons, tools, charcoal, food (in the form of berries, nuts, fungi, fruit, wild animals, etc.), geographical markers as well as the basis for spirituality and wisdom.
Townlands are the smallest unit of the division of land, there are 1,200 called after the oak tree, our National Tree. Five of our counties are named after trees. It is believed that 80% of the townland names are derived from the Irish language.
This is a free event, no booking required. This event is worth 15 CPD points to those registered on the Society of Irish Foresters’ CPD Programme.
Thursday 13th March, 3pm
The Annual Augustine Henry Forestry Lecture – Trees and Climate Change, Matthew Jebb, 3pm
Dr Matthew Jebb, Director of the National Botanic Gardens, will give insights on the positive effects of trees on climate change.
This is a free event, no booking required.
For more tree week events please visit nationaltreeweek.ie/list-of-events