St Kevin’s Plant Their Own, Eh, Forest

St Kevin’s National School

atest press release from St Kevin’s National School, issued on Monday, November 25th 2024…

Last Friday, November 22nd at St Kevin’s, we had the launch of the first Stepping Stone Forest for Wicklow.

Stepping Stone Forests are mini-woodlands of native Irish trees and shrubs that are planted using a method that is inspired by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki.

Akira Miyawaki 1928-2021

Forests planted using the Miyawaki method grow ten times faster, are 30 times more dense, and support a far greater level of biodiversity than traditional forestry methods. As Stepping Stone Forests include a large range of native tree species they also sequester more carbon than single-species tree plantations.

The brainchild of John Kiberd, Stepping Stone Forests are usually created in school grounds and are planted in a horseshoe shape in order to create an outdoor classroom.

John Kiberd

In just under three years 39 of these urban woodlands have been planted and by the end of the current planting season, in March 2025, this number will be almost 60 bringing the total number of trees planted to 58.5K.

The main idea behind Stepping Stone Forests is to transform areas of manicured lawn into thriving woodlands that will support far more biodiversity than the green deserts that they replace. Kiberd says, “We want to try to attract wildlife back into our urban environments and to make space for nature. For too long our complete focus on catering for human needs has meant that the rest of the natural world has been squeezed to the margins and, in some cases, out of existence.”

To date all of the Stepping Stone Forests have been created within Dublin. The 300-tree forest in St Kevin’s NS in Greystones will be the first to be planted in Wicklow. This has been made possible with the support of SUGi Project and financial sponsor Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT).

St Kevin’s Stepping Stone Forest: Day 1

SUGi has supported the creation of 224 Miyawaki-style forests in 53 cities and towns across the globe. ORIT, a major investment force in renewable energy innovations across Europe, has already partnered with SUGi to create six Pocket Forests in the United Kingdom and France.

From the Principal Paul O’Dwyer, “On behalf of St Kevin’s National School, I am delighted that our school has been selected to participate in the Stepping Stone Forests programme.

“I would like to thank John Kiberd and our Parents Association for putting this partnership together. I believe this project will yield great benefits to our whole school community as well as the biodiversity boost it will provide. It will be wonderful to see this forest come to life through the shared efforts of pupils, parents and staff members alike.

“The new forest will be a lasting legacy for the current cohort of pupils which will leave an indelible impression for years to come….”

You can find out more about Stepping Stone Forests here, and about St Kevin’s National School over here.