There are more trees and shrubs in Belfast than there are people, and the One Million Trees project is more than doubling that number.
Beginning in 2020, it is a 15-year programme to increase tree cover.
It was one of the reasons Belfast was listed as one of the world’s leading climate action cities in 2022.
The One Million Trees Project has the backing of planting organisations, landowners and Belfast City councillors.
“We took the proposal to the main planting organisations – the Woodland Trust, National Trust, Conservation Volunteers, Belfast Hills Partnership – and we got the support of the landowners,” said Peter Carr, from the One Million Trees Project.
“With the planters and the landowners on board, we could approach the politicians.
“The City Council has taken on ownership of the project. It’s an ambitious target, but we feel if we can get community support, get the city behind us, we can hopefully achieve that goal.”
While the cold weather might not be to everyone’s taste, it is ideal for planting young saplings around the city.
Volunteers from Queen’s University Belfast are supporting the project, growing native saplings at the Lennoxvale Nursery in south Belfast, with the help of the Sans Souci Residents’ Committee.
“We’ve planted and grown around 1,000 saplings,” said Sara Lynch, the university’s head of sustainability.
“Most recently those saplings have been replanted up in Malone Playing Fields, so we have around 500 native oaks planted there.
“The acorns that grew those oaks came from Belvoir Park Forest, which has some of the oldest oaks in Ireland.”
It has helped bring the community in the Malone area together.
“It’s great just getting out in nature for the mental health,” said QUB Handy Helper volunteer Lydia Hosain.
“Definitely it does help, meeting new people and getting to know the locals as well.
“While you’re a student living up in Queen’s, you don’t get to know the other people around Belfast, but through Handy Helpers and initiatives like helping out at the tree nursery, you really do get to meet new people and it’s fantastic.”
Apart from enhancing the appearance of the city, trees play an important role in absorbing carbon and improving air quality.
They also help with flood prevention and support local biodiversity.
The iTrees Eco Report, carried out in 2022, found almost a quarter of Belfast (23%) was made up of tree cover, with about 808,000 trees and shrubs, comprised of 83 species.
It found stark differences across the city for tree coverage, ranging from 32% in Poleglass to just 4% in the Shankill.
And it estimated the “amenity value” of that tree canopy cover at £4.6bn, thanks to the trees’ carbon absorption capacity, cooling effect and flood alleviation contribution.
“There are so many benefits to planting trees,” said Peter.
“It’ll help us fight climate change, it’ll help increase the health of the population, it’ll increase the beauty and the amenity of the city.
“So many advantages to planting trees.”
The One Million Trees project is a little ahead of schedule, with about 64,000 planted already.
It helped Belfast achieve an A rating from an international charity for its efforts to tackle climate change.
“There are lots of ways you can get involved,” said Peter.
“You can get involved as individuals, you can get involved through your work, through your church, through your children’s schools, through sports clubs – all sorts of ways to make a contribution.
“And we feel if the city gets behind the project, then we’ve a real chance of meeting that million trees objective.
“In a small city with a relatively small tree population, we hope it will be transformational for Belfast.”