Latest news with #100MillionTreesProject
RTÉ News
12-05-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
750,000 trees planted in 100 Million Trees Project
Some 750,000 trees have been planted at mini-forest locations in Ireland in the last two-and-a-half years, as part of the 100 Million Trees Project. Founded in 2022 by siblings Richard, David and Tina Mulcahy, they hope to plant another one million trees across the country next year. "I realised that I was a contributor to the climate crisis, and I thought that we really need to do something now," explained Richard Mulcahy. "We have a moral obligation to the next generation to leave the land and the environment in a good, healthy state," he said. "I saw this project as an opportunity to get people back focused on the environment, so that they could leave something for their children." The initiative aims to combat climate change, increase biodiversity, and create mini-carbon sinks by planting trees in dense formation. The project has employed the specialist Japanese Miyawaki method of planting, which leads to accelerated growth, increased biodiversity and a rapid carbon sink. More support needed from local authorities and farmers For local authorities, it's a no-brainer, according to Richard Mulcahy. "With derelict sites that may be just lying there idle local authorities have a huge opportunity. "We could actually plant 100 million trees just with local authorities but again they're so preoccupied with housing and all the other issues that the focus isn't on this. "But the focus has to be on this, because none of this is going to be relevant in 30 years time if we don't do something about the environment. "So we really hope local authorities will start taking this on board, giving us sites and we will come along and plant for them. It's a no brainer," he said. The founders say while there has been some uptake from farmers, they would like to see more farmers embracing what they have described as a "huge opportunity". If every farmer in Ireland gave a quarter of an acre, in the corner of a field, the founders say they would be able to plant close to half a billion trees. "I know farmers are having a difficult time, and they get a tough time from people saying that they're ruining the environment and many of them are preoccupied with trying to survive. "But we'd like to see farmers giving a quarter of an acre of land and it will do something really good for biodiversity and for their carbon output. "Farmers are beginning to take this up on us now, which is fantastic so more farmers is what we need." Ireland one of the least forested countries in Europe David Mulcahy, another one of the founders of the one hundred million trees project, said more and more of the trees planted are being grown in Ireland. "We buy our trees from Irish companies and more and more of them have been grown in Ireland rather than being imported. "And we're also trying to eliminate any imported trees to try and encourage the support of Irish tree growers so that we can plant all our own trees, not export them, but plant them in Ireland. "Ireland is one of the least forested countries in Europe, but hopefully, over the next number of years, we'll try and change that," he said. Trees have been planted in 26 counties across Ireland and the founders of the project would like to see it reaching every county. "We have planted in about 26 counties and now we're looking to plant in every one of the 32 counties, and we're looking for people to volunteer sites for next year where we hope to plant a million native trees." Yew Point, Co Roscommon A total of 12,500 trees have been planted at the 145-acre Yew Point Estate as part of the 100 Million Trees Project. The trees planted at Yew Point include Scots Pine, Hazel, Oak and Birch trees. "It was a godsend being introduced to Richard and David and the Mulcahy family and their 100 Million Trees Project," said Johnny O'Sullivan, director of the Hodson Bay Group which runs the Yew Point Estate. "It catapulted us from putting hundreds of trees into the ground to putting tens of thousands of trees into the ground" It is all part of a regenerative tourism project close to the Hodson Bay Hotel with plans to develop a 36-cabin eco-friendly tourist resort. "Our intention, along with regenerating the woodlands to their former glory, is to create a luxury accommodation five-star eco resort, so you'll have an accommodation experience along with opportunities for learnings around sustainability and the unique ecology of the site," Mr O'Sullivan said. "The site is very unique in that it's been in specific ownership for hundreds of years, right back to when the monks had an abbey on the site, and up into more recent times when it was in the ownership of the Lenihan family," he said. "If you go back to the 14th and 15th century, there was monks farming this land in a very sensitive and sustainable way. "When you look around and you see those oak trees, some of them are up to 800 years old, the reason they're there is because of those sustainable farming practices that the monks used. "We're only temporary custodians of this very, very special place, and what we do here should be regenerative, should be reversible, and should leave it in a better place for generations to come," he added.
Irish Examiner
28-04-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Cork pupils help take on task of planting 100m trees 'for next generation'
A mini forest densely planted with thousands of native Irish trees is set to shoot up in a small corner of East Cork, as part of an ambitious project to plant 100m trees nationwide, that could help save the State billions in emissions fines. The pocket forest on the Kennedy family farm near Killeagh, funded by the 100 Million Trees Project, was planted on Monday using the special Miyawaki dense planting method. It will have trees up to 16ft high within four to five years, extracting around 35 tonnes of carbon from the air annually. It is the latest plantation by the 100 Million Trees Project, which aims to plant 100m native Irish trees — creating a vast new national carbon sink over a decade — amid warnings that the State could face a cost of €20bn in EU fines if it fails to achieve reductions in carbon emissions in 2030. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) figure of €20bn is far higher than a previous estimate of about €8bn from the Climate Change Advisory Council. Mairead Kennedy, along with her children Sean and Aila Connery, work together to plant a native tree. Picture: Chani Anderson. School children from Park National School donned wellies and dug in on Monday to help professional planter John Overton plant some 2,500 trees in a small corner of Brian and Kira Kennedy's at Mount Uniacke. Brian said he wasn't really using the quarter-acre site for agriculture, and so he approached the 100 Million Trees project. 'My original plan for this unutilised four-acre field was to drain it, plough it, re-seed it,' he said. 'My father said: 'Can't you leave it for the frogs, foxes, and wildlife, haven't you enough land without it?' Instead of improving the land agriculturally, I've decided to improve its biodiversity 'I have a great love of trees which my father passed onto me, and I have fond memories as a child in Park National School of planting horse chestnuts which I have now growing on the farm. Professional tree planter John Overton puts seedlings into the ground on the Kennedy family land. Picture: Chani Anderson. 'I find planting trees or just observing them very therapeutic. I think people need to get away more from their phones and hectic lives and spend time in nature. There's calming energy from trees. My plan for this field is to take it from agriculture and give it back to nature, and create a number of different habitats — such as a pond, woodland, and rewilded grassland The 100 Million Trees Project was founded in 2022 by brothers Richard and David Mulcahy and their sister Tina. It is a non-profit community and volunteer-driven environmental initiative that aims to plant 100m native Irish trees in a decade using the special Miyawaki planting method. The method is named after Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, and it involves the dense planting of excess trees very close together. It has been proven that trees grow considerably faster, denser, are more biodiverse through this method. Most importantly, they create a very rapid carbon sink. Sean Connery and his younger sister Aila Connery share a joyful moment as Aila gleefully throws a shovel of dirt while planting trees. Picture: Chani Anderson. Richard Mulcahy was in Mount Uniacke on Monday for the planting, which is being funded entirely by Uniphar. 'This is for the next generation,' he said. In its first year, the 100 Million Trees Project oversaw the planting of some 20,000 trees at 18 sites nationwide. However, it has scaled up significantly in 2023 to plant some 200,000 trees at 85 sites in 23 counties. The 2024/25 season began with a planting project in Kerry last November, and Mr Mulcahy said they aim to have planted some 550,000 native Irish trees across 230 sites like the one on the Kennedy's farm in 29 counties by the end of May. Planting 100m trees in a decade could reduce Ireland's carbon output by 'a significant 2.5%', he said. Aila Connery follows her teacher's instructions carefully as she plants a native tree on the Kennedy's family land. 'We are facing a climate crisis unless we do something quickly, and one of the few things you can do quickly in a climate crisis is plant trees — because they extract carbon from the air,' he said. Traditionally, Coillte would plant 1,000 trees in an acre — but we plant 1,000 trees in 0.1 of an acre "The logic with our dense planting method is that the trees grow up, rather than grow out, so the energy goes into them growing up. "Because they grow much quicker, they extract carbon much quicker. "There are about 130,000 farms in Ireland and, to plant 100m trees using our method, you only need 40,000 quarter-acre sites. "Typical farms invariably have four or five corners that are just sitting there doing nothing. Getting 40,000 sites like this shouldn't be a big ask given the benefits it will bring 'If the Government really wanted to do something serious about getting trees into the ground, they could plant 5bn trees — which would cost about €5bn — and completely neutralise Ireland's carbon output, [as opposed to] paying fines of up to €20bn in five years.' He urged farmers, landowners, and local authorities to consider the benefits of planting disused or under-used sites using their method, with the cost of the trees and labour all covered by the 100 Million Trees Project. Richard Mulcahy, the co-founder of the 100 Million Trees Project, smiles with members of the extended Kennedy family on the piece of bogland they donated for native tree planting to support the project's rewilding mission. Picture: Chani Anderson. Individual planting plots can range in size from as little as a tenth of an acre to a quarter of an acre from amongst Ireland's entire stock of 20.8m acres. The areas required for planting are small — covering an area roughly the size of between one and two basketball courts. Areas of native forest can also be planted on portions of dormant State-owned lands and on corporate sites, which is a relatively small price to pay in exchange for the returned dividend: A carbon sequestration equivalent of 1,184,625 tonnes of CO2 every year. The Miyawaki planting method offers many benefits to both landowners and to the State, Mr Mulcahy said, including 10 times increased carbon sequestration for one tenth of the land mass required for normal planting. It also offers 10 times the speed of growth, creating a rapid solution to improving biodiversity. It rapidly improves air quality, and provides an inexpensive way for farmers to create a rapid area of biodiversity. You can find out how to get involved on Read More Ciarán Brennan: Government is letting bills mount up rather than deal with climate change
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EdgeConneX Becomes Joint Main Sponsor of Lucan Sarsfields GAA Club in Dublin, Ireland
Proud Sponsors of the Senior Camogie and Intermediate Ladies Football Teams HERNDON, Va., February 11, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EdgeConneX®, a pioneer in global Build-to-Suit and Build-to-Density data center solutions, is proud to announce a three-year sponsorship agreement with Lucan Sarsfields GAA Club. This partnership will directly support the Senior Camogie and Intermediate Ladies Football teams while firmly establishing EdgeConneX as one of the Main Club sponsors. This collaboration represents EdgeConneX on-going commitment to the communities around its projects, with the sponsorship reflecting the company's decade-long infrastructure investment in Ireland at Grange Castle Business Park, Dublin. Supporting local initiatives like Lucan Sarsfields GAA Club is integral to the company's mission of fostering meaningful relationships with the local communities and neighbors. The sponsorship provides much needed funding to support the ladies' teams and will help improve pitches, fundraise for floodlights to enable year-round training and playing, and support other on-and-off-pitch initiatives. These upgrades aim to empower the women's teams as they pursue their passion and strive for success in the seasons ahead. "At EdgeConneX, we believe in investing in technology, people and the community where we operate. The alignment between our WomenConneX employee resource group and Lucan Sarsfields women's teams made this partnership a natural fit. We are inspired by the dedication and talent of these athletes, and we are thrilled to support them as they aim for new heights in the coming seasons." - Angela Capon- VP of Marketing, EMEA, EdgeConneX and Founder of WomenConneX EdgeConneX has demonstrated that its partnership goes well beyond a short-term financial one and has generously supplied and delivered 10 tons of topsoil to Lucan Sarsfields. This allowed Lucan Sarsfields, in collaboration with the 100 Million Trees Project, to advance with planting trees for the Miyawaki Forest of 1.7K native trees. This was a part of Lucan Sarsfields Biodiversity plan and made a significant step towards environmental sustainability and community engagement when Lucan Sarsfields became stewards of the largest mini forest on any sporting site in Dublin community club grounds. Mary Flannery, Chairperson of Lucan Sarsfields GAA Club, expressed her gratitude, "EdgeConneX stepping forward as one of our Main Club sponsors marks a turning point for our ladies' teams. The company's support will provide the resources to improve our facilities, inspiring and empowering our athletes to give their best both on and off the field. We are truly excited about what we can achieve together over the next three years." Looking ahead, EdgeConneX is eager to celebrate future milestones with Lucan Sarsfields teams. Having reached the semi-finals in 2024, the Senior Camogie team is poised for a strong 2025 season, with EdgeConneX cheering them to what is hopefully a championship win. EdgeConneX owns and operates 80+ data centers built and in development globally across four continents and 20+ countries. For more information, please visit About EdgeConneX Backed by EQT Infrastructure, part of the global investment organization EQT, EdgeConneX provides a full range of sustainable data center solutions worldwide. We work closely with our customers to offer choices in location, scale, and type of facility, from Build-to-Suit to Build-to-Density. EdgeConneX is a global leader in anytime, anywhere, and any scale data center services for a diverse portfolio of industries, including Cloud, AI, Content, Networks, and more. With a mission predicated on taking care of our customers, our people, and our planet, EdgeConneX strives to Empower Your Edge. For more information, please visit View source version on Contacts Media Enquiries: press@ Sign in to access your portfolio
