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atest press release from ReWild Wicklow, issued on Thursday, December 8th 2022…

Local environmental charity ReWild Wicklow has just launched a new range of tree gift certificates in time for Christmas.

It is giving the public of Wicklow the opportunity to purchase one of five types of native tree to be planted across Wicklow: Scots pine, oak, willow, rowan and hawthorn. The certificates have been brought to life by beautiful illustrations donated to the initiative by Wicklow artist Emily Robyn Archer from her Native Circles collection.

All funds raised will be used to purchase native trees and in a new tree nursery just setup by the group in Newtown. The nursery is located at Jacksmill Forest Gardens-Hub 13 and complements the community allotments and biodiversity reserve already on site.

The group is working in partnership with NPWS to collect native tree seed from within Wicklow Mountains National Park and nature reserves such as Clara Vale and Deputy’s Pass. On Saturday 18th November they had their first volunteer day at the new nursery where 30 volunteers built raised beds and sowed over 2,000 acorns and other types of tree seed. These will be cared for by volunteers at the nursery for up to five years before being planted back out across the Wicklow Mountains, thereby giving them the best chance of surviving the grazing pressure.

“We’ve had a very exciting month at ReWild Wicklow,” said chairperson Danny Alvey at the launch. “On Friday 10th November we were in Armagh for the IPB all-island Pride of Place awards after a nomination from Wicklow County Council. We were delighted to be picked by the judges for a Special Award, it gave all our volunteers a great boost!

ReWild’s new Hub13 HQ

“Now we’ve just launched our new range of gift certificates for Christmas. This year we have increased the variety from three to five, including willow, which will be planted in river bank restoration projects, and rowan, which will be planted in Native Woodland Trust reserves. Some of this funding will also be used in our new native tree nursery, to help us care for locally sourced oak and other species before they eventually get planted out into our National Park – a really exciting project! Thank you to everyone across Wicklow for their continued support, I hope they will consider buying one of these gift certificates for a loved one this Christmas, it’s a perfect gift for someone who cares about nature and the future of our planet.”

They can be purchased on the community group’s website here.