Uimhir Thagarta Uathúil:
SD-C193-28
Stádas:
Submitted
Submission:
Submission from John Kiberd on Behalf of Tallaght Litter Mugs
Comhairliúchán:
Living with Trees South Dublin County Council Tree Management Policy
Dáta a cuireadh isteach:
03.08.2021 - 17:44
Teorainneacha Gafa ar an léarscáil:
Níl
Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission to Living with Trees South Dublin County Council Tree Management Policy 2021-2026.
When framing the policy for the period 2021-2026 it is important to recognise the context within which we currently operate.
1) In the Dublin Tree Canopy Study undertaken by the School of Geography, University College Dublin, and published in March 2017, it was identified that SDCC’s urban areas are impoverished in terms of tree canopy with approximately two thirds of urban SDCC having less than 10% canopy cover. Areas that have been identified as being of particular need of tree planting were Adamstown, City West, Firhouse, Jobstown, Tallaght, Palmerstown, Perrystown and Walkinstown.
2) In May 2019 Ireland became the second country to declare a climate emergency. In addition to the obvious lack of canopy cover across South Dublin the current climate crisis demands a far more comprehensive and ambitious approach by all local authorities to tree planting and management. For Ireland to meet it’s climate targets large scale planting of trees has a vital role to play.
3) SDCC plans to plant a gross 2,500 trees over the course of 2021. This is a really disappointing response by our Council especially in the context of an existential climate emergency. The disappointment is further compounded because a significant number of existing mature trees will be lost so the net tree gain is likely to be very marginal indeed.
4) For contrast, the Stepping Stone Forests for Schools program, being promoted by Tallaght Community Council, has a minimum target of 2,000 bare root native trees and shrubs to be planted in 2022 in the greater Tallaght area with no loss of any existing trees.
The next iteration of the Living With Trees Action Plan should embrace new approaches to tree and urban forest planting that will very significantly increase the stock of trees and woodlands across the County. It is important to set ambitious quantifiable targets for net planting, with a particular emphasis on native Irish species in parks. Progress towards these targets should be monitored and reported upon on an annual basis. Any slippage in a particular year should be rectified in successive years to ensure that the ultimate five year target is achieved.
It is quite strange that the last Living With Trees Action Plan did not include any targets for the number of trees or woodlands to be planted over the life of the plan. As with any plan it is vitally important that expected outcomes are identified precisely, are clearly measurable, and progress monitored and reported upon.
For the Living with Trees 2021-2026 plan there should be hard, and ambitious, targets for the net number of trees to be planted. There should also be defined targets for the development of woodlands such as those contemplated in Objective 7 (to develop Miyawaki style forests) of the Council’s Green Infrastructure Strategy. These targets should be set for each year of the plan and there should be an annual review of progress over the life of the plan. These reviews should be made available to the public by posting them on the SDCC website in a timely fashion.
Measurement should also include the number of trees that have to be removed during the course of the plan, and the reason that they were removed. In this way it will be possible to identify the net gain. It is important to recognise and acknowledge that when the calculation for net gains is being made, that a newly planted sapling does not have the same ecosystem services value as a 40 year old tree, for example, that has to be removed for whatever reason.
As stated in Connecting with Nature – Biodiversity Action Plan for South Dublin County 2020-2026 “Seen from the air, more than half of South Dublin County is green landscape.” Much of this green landscape is made up of vast swathes of grass lawns that are owned and managed by SDCC. There are large tracts of lawn in our public parks that are constantly maintained/tamed by large CO2-emitting machinery. In biodiversity terms areas of lawn are effectively green deserts. By using the planting method pioneered by Prof Akira Miyawaki SDCC could very quickly create large scale dense and fast growing forests of native trees to replace some of these areas of green desert.
The current Stepping Stone forest trial, also inspired by Prof. Akira Miyawaki, in Sean Walsh Park in Tallaght will see almost 1,000 bare root native trees and shrubs planted in Q4 of 2021. Canopy layer species will include: Alder, Birch, Oak, Scots Pine, Willow, Yew. The understory and shrub layer species will include: Blackthorn, Crab Apple, Elder, Guelder Rose, Holly, Hazel, Hawthorn, Rowan, Spindle, Wild Cherry. These will be planted at a density of three trees/shrubs per square meter. Generous mulching will prevent any competition from grasses or weeds. The combination of mulching and the dense planting ensures that these forests grow and develop extremely quickly. Once established these forests require virtually no regular maintenance. Compare this to the current regime of regular mowing of areas of lawn that will go on ad infinitum.
The added benefit of this approach is that the cost of creating these forests is far cheaper than current tree planting methods employed. A single bare root tree can be purchase for €1.50 to €4 each, depending upon species. By comparison a single root-balled oak, 25cm in girth, costs €600/€650.
Replacing areas of public parks lawn, and open space lawn, with Miyawaki-style Stepping Stone forests is a rapid and affordable rewilding alternative that is readily available to SDCC.
Video of Stepping Stone forest preparation day in Sean Walsh Park - Dec 2020
As mentioned earlier, Tallaght Community Council is promoting a program to plant small forests on school grounds in the Tallaght area. Ten schools have signed up for the first phase that will involve soil preparation in autumn 2021 and the planting of a minimum of 2,000 bare root native trees and shrubs in Q1 of 2022. The schools provide the land, school children and volunteers provide the labour, and local businesses provide the financial backing. To date, enough corporate financial support has been committed to fund a Stepping Stone forest in every primary and post primary school across Tallaght. See St Kevins Boys NS attachment for a sample school forest plan.
We believe that this model can be emulated in other areas of the County and SDCC is ideally positioned to promote a schools forest program across the entire South Dublin County. The welcome addition of tens of thousands of native trees to the County’s stock of trees will also help to foster a greater appreciation of trees and biodiversity among children. The children will literally grow up alongside their very own forest. It could be a subset of Living With Trees e.g. Growing With Trees?
Animated Representation of Forest School Classroom
Item reference 1.2 of the action plan in Living With Trees 2015-2020 was to survey and collate all street trees on a computerised management system. To date 50% of the estimated 60,000 have been surveyed so it would appear that the full survey may not be completed until well into the next five years of Living With Trees.
We recommend examining the possibility of using a citizen science approach to complete the survey more quickly. The 2021 DCU WaterBlitz attracted 790 participants that went out and sampled the water quality of nearby water sources. It should be possible to attract volunteers to, at the very least, count the trees on the street on which they live. With limited training or guidance additional information could also be garnered.
There are Government funding schemes such as the Creation of Woodland on Public Lands Scheme and the Neighbour Wood Scheme that will finance large scale plantations of native trees. The purpose of such schemes is to encourage public bodies, such as SDCC to establish new native woodlands on suitable land.
The creation of Miyawaki-style forests are very low cost options that should be affordable from within existing Council resources.
Should SDCC decide to actively promote and co-ordinate a Stepping Stone Forest for Schools initiative on a County-wide basis this can be funded by tapping into corporate social responsibility funding, as has been demonstrated through the current Tallaght Community Council program.
Trees, and more importantly woodlands, are really valuable nature based solutions to the global climate emergency. South Dublin County Council demonstrates that it recognises the importance of trees through the Living With Trees Management Policy document and consultation process. We would recommend that SDCC takes this recognition a stage further by appointing a dedicated Tree and Woodlands officer.
The World is facing an unprecedented climate crisis and indeed we may already be beyond the point of no recovery. Nevertheless it is incumbent upon all of us to do what we can to reverse as much of the damage to the environment as possible. Collectively we must approach the climate emergency with the same vigour and urgency as was applied to the threat posed by Covid-19.
As custodians of large areas of parkland and other green spaces there is an imperative on South Dublin County Council to lead the way in the struggle to contain, and reverse, climate change. The Council also has access to Government funding schemes such as the Creation of Woodland on Public Lands Scheme and the Neighbour Wood Scheme that can finance large scale plantations of native trees.
As demonstrated by Tallaght Community Council’s Stepping Stone Forests for Schools program there are other non-public areas within the South Dublin that could be planted with trees and woodlands. This program also proves that there is financial support available in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility funding from local businesses. There is an opportunity for SDCC to spread this initiative right across South Dublin.
Furthermore, the trial of Miyawaki-style forests in Sean Walsh Park in collaboration with the Litter Mugs clearly demonstrates that there is significant goodwill across the community for the rewilding of ‘tamed’ areas of parkland. There is a pool of volunteer labour that is ready to be tapped if the opportunity is made available. Once again, SDCC is in a unique position to advance this initiative in many of the parks under its control.
None of the foregoing is fanciful or theoretical. These are practical solutions to the enormous and dangerous challenges that are facing us. What is required is a new mindset and a new approach. SDCC should be an exemplar for other local authorities by setting hugely ambitious targets for tree planting and woodland creation. Progress towards the achievement of these targets should be actively and regularly monitored and measured to ensure ultimate success.
The land is available, the finance is available, the goodwill within the wider community is there. All that is needed now is the ambition, commitment, and the drive to plant very large numbers of trees and woodlands.