Invasive cherry laurel

 

Protecting the future of one of Northern Ireland’s few remaining native woodlands starts with an unexpected step: large-scale demolition.

That’s why a long-term restoration project — potentially spanning decades — is underway to clear invasive species from a vital woodland corridor between Belfast and Bangor.

Spearheaded by National Museums NI and the Woodland Trust, the initiative has already removed 1,200 tonnes of invasive plants — roughly the weight of 700 cars — from land near the Ulster Folk and Transport Museums. These include rhododendron and cherry laurel, dense, fast-spreading shrubs with toxic, cyanide-laced leaves that threaten native ecosystems.

In their place, thousands of native trees are being planted to help revive and preserve this rare habitat. The site is part of a dwindling network of native woodland in Northern Ireland — a region with just 8% forest cover, far below the 40% European average.

Even more concerning, less than 0.5% of that forest is made up of native species.

Jerry Hawe, from the Woodland Trust, said that “so much of our semi-natural woodland is vastly depleted”.

“It’s less than half a percent of our land area and, unfortunately, the remaining woodlands face a whole range of challenges.

“Probably first among these would be the challenge from invasive exotic species.”

This restoration effort aims to plant more than 2,500 native trees, helping secure the future of the woodland, which has suffered for decades under a “heavy infestation” of non-native plants. These invasive species have crowded out native regeneration, putting the forest’s long-term survival at risk.

Over the last few decades, the woodland at the folk museum has suffered a “heavy infestation” of cherry laurel and rhododendron – both “very aggressive” invasive species.

The scale of the infestation means native species aren’t able to naturally regenerate, meaning the future of the forest is “by no means secure”.

“In order for these woodlands to support the full range of associated species, flora and fauna, then the more native we can make them, the better.”

The Woodland Trust is advising National Museums NI on how to manage the site as it regenerates, with a focus on restoring native species such as hazel, birch, and oak.

The removal process began in 2022 and resulted in nearly 1,300 tonnes of green waste, which was converted into renewable energy through biomass. The revenue from this process is now funding the ongoing planting of native trees.

The first phase is already in motion, with 550 trees planted across an area larger than four football pitches.

A single oak can support thousands of other species, explained Niamh Carmichael from the Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR). “so you can imagine what happens then when you amplify that” she continued.

Ms Carmichael described the woodland at the folk museum as a “really important ecological corridor”, adding that invasive species are a “significant cause of biodiversity loss globally”.

Carmichael noted that many invasive species were introduced during the Victorian era, a time of great curiosity about nature but limited ecological understanding.

“New species were accidently or deliberately introduced to habitats with conditions not really built for them.

“The majority of them tend not to do terribly well, but there are, unfortunately, some that are nearly a wee bit too good at surviving.”

She estimates it could take around 120 years for the woodland to fully mature and for a balanced ecosystem to return — a monumental but essential task.

“With the invasives, you have to keep at it, because you could clear all of the invasive species off the site, but they could then come back in accidentally on a tyre track, or some of the wildlife could accidentally bring it in.

“It’s our responsibility to make sure those invasives never take hold again.”

While the project shows encouraging signs of recovery, it also highlights the broader challenge Northern Ireland faces in meeting its climate and biodiversity goals.

Under the Forests for Our Future programme, launched in 2020, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) committed to planting 18 million trees over 10 years— equivalent to 10 trees per person. But five years on, just 4.5 million trees have been planted, covering around 2,300 hectares.

In a statement, the department said it recognised that “the annual tree planting rates needed to increase incrementally over the decade from the 200 hectares per year, when the programme launched, to achieve the 9,000 hectare target”.

Likewise, the One Million Trees initiative by Belfast City Council, once ambitious, has fallen 220,000 trees behind target.

Nevertheless, Ms Carmichael said that “in the face of the biodiversity and climate crisis”, the early signs of recovery at this project is “a reminder that nature can bounce back, when given the chance”.

“It’s a hopeful sign of what’s still possible.”

 

 

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At Natural World Fund, we are passionate about restoring habitats in the UK to halt the decline in our wildlife.

 

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