BTCV : CVNI : Tree Campaign

National Tree Week has started and runs between 26 November and 7 December this year. We've already been out in Coleraine planting an extension to an exisiting woodland with 10 local schools...

...and this coming week we'll be cutting down hazel trees as part of Tree Week! Coppicing is a traditional, very useful, but often forgotten form of woodland management. Hazel is one of our native trees that responds extremely well to coppicing and is an important ingredient in ashwoods. More next month.

Keeping our promise to feature a "priority habitat" each month, we are looking at species-rich hedgerows. Hedgerows are a familiar site across Northern Ireland but, without good management, they may not support as much wildlife as they should.

Don't forget that our tree nursery is now open for sales with a brand new online ordering system to make life simple.

We have one training courses coming up in December.

Species-Rich Hedgerows
A species-rich hedgerows is a hedge "which contains five or more native woody species in a 30 metre length".

Hedges are important for many reasons. From a biodiversity point of view, hedges are vital habitats and sources of food and shelter for wildlife, as well as providing corridors to help wildlife move around.

Northern Ireland has the highest density of field boundaries in the UK. Hedges here are generally much younger than in the rest of the UK - the majority being planted between 1750 and 1850. Over half of the hedgerows in Northern Ireland are species-poor. They are dominated by hawthorn and common in lowland areas.

The large number of animals and plants found in hedgerows reflects the complexity of the habitat. They are rich habitats for all kinds of wildlife including plants, birds, mammals and insects. Hedgerows provide valuable nesting habitat and song posts for breeding birds. Hedgerows act as corridors for many species, including reptiles and amphibians, allowing dispersal and movement between other habitats.
Read more about species-rich hedgerows

HBOS "Do One Thing" for local wildlife
Conservation Volunteers helped HBOS "Do One Thing" for wildlife in Belfast city centre early in November. Over twenty volunteers gave up their Saturday to work in St. Malachy’s Primary School wildlife garden.
Find out more

Where Eagles Dare
Robins are familiar companions for volunteers in Fermanagh as they dig over the soil in their nursery, but they were shocked when a much larger bird dropped into Castle Archdale recently.
Find out what happened

L'Derry CAT takes to the slopes
Our L’Derry Conservation Action Team has taken to the slopes of Glenveagh National Park in Donegal to assist in an oak woodland restoration project and reintroduce native species to areas previously cleared of rhododendron.
Read about what they've been up to

Places are available on the following courses during December

MANUAL HANDLING CERTIFICATE, Bangor, Co. Down - 9 December 2008

Book online or contact Linda on L.Wilson@btcv.org.uk or 028 9185 2817

Irish Uplands Forum - Research Officer
The Irish Uplands Forum is seeking a suitably qualified and experienced person to undertake a 12-month full-time research post to investigate the current social, economic and environmental issues affecting landscapes and communities in upland areas of the Republic of Ireland.

For a full job description contact irishuplandsforum@gmail.com. Closing date is 17 December 2008. The post is subject to funding, to be confirmed during December 2008.

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