News Page

The Wicklow People, Thursday, March 9, 2003

 The epic saga surrounding the construction of the dual carriageway through the Glen of the Downs has come full circle.

The road is due to open at the end of the month, and five hundred young oak trees have been planted as part of the compensation works for the project.

A total of one hundred trees were lost in the construction of the road. Of those, a dozen were oaks. Most of them were ash, beech and sycamore.

 Paul Murray of Wicklow town based environmental services company, Natura, explained that an undertaking had been given before the work began on the road that a number of trees greater than the number lost would be planted when the road was completed.

Now with the help of Glenealy based company, Trees in Transit, that the undertaking has been carried out. The five hundred oaks have been planted on the leftside of the northbound carriageway on an area that used to be a layby.

Evert Verveen (above) of Trees in Transit outlined the process they went through to plant the trees. They prepared the groung and then undersowed it with a woodland wildflower seed mix to prevent a flush of weed establishing.
The work commenced in May and the trees were planted on October 1.
The trees have been fitted with tree guards to protect them from deer damage as there is considerable deer activity in the Glen.

Impact
Now it is just a waiting game. The trees will take about a hundred years to mature. However, there is already a signifigant visual impact and the oaks will grow about one foot each year.
Concerns over the impact of the road on the nature reserve were brought to the attention of the public and the European Environmental Commission by the warriors who camped in the Gloen of the Downs to Show their opposition to the project.
The protesters were eventually removed after a series of High Court actions taken by Wicklow County Council. However, The commission decreed that there should be no net loss of habitat in the area.
Paul Murray said that he would not attribute the planting of the new trees to the eco warriors.

Spotlight
Although he agreed that they did put the issue under the spotlight, he said that the environmental impact statement, which Natura carried out, said there would be negative impacts and included compensatory elements.
'Compensatory planting is becoming much more an accepted standard and has been carried out in Kilmacanogue also' he said. 'The commission was fully aware that there was no visible alternative for the road'.
'The point is that there are now more trees there than were lost, And there are still more oaks to be planted.' Evert added.

Trees tops for instant privacy

The days of planting saplings and waiting for them
to grow tall enough for shade, shelter or privacy
are long gone, writes Jane Powers, but the cost of
instant parkland can be high.

       In times past, when you wanted trees on your property, you planted them as saplings. Then you sat back and waited about half a century, hoping that gales, drought or disease would not claim them. Your grandchildren would thank you for your generous foresight.
     Things are a little different nowadays. If you don't like the view of a neighbouring property, you can plant a stately line of 10-meter-high Lombardy poplars to descreetly shield it. Or if you fancy turning pasture into parkland, how about a few shapely beech trees for an immediate Capability Brown landscape?
     If you are so minded,you can plant anything from a semi-mature, five-metre-tall lime (which may cost £150) to a 90-year-old oak, 17 meters high and packed with character. This later piece of instant antiquity will set you back £8,000 to £10,000 for the tree alone. Bringing it over from the continent, where the largest trees are grown for sale, could be another £3,000. The business of planting it will also put a considerable dent in your purse........ 
     ...... Evert Verveen of Trees in Transit, Glenealy, Co Wicklow, says the "sky is the limit" for prices for mature trees. These he ships in from nurseries in Italy, Holland, Germany or Belgium. His own trees have a girth of about 20 centimetres and are around 5 metres tall. Prices range from £60 for a Lombardy poplar to £72 for a broad-leaved lime. Doubling the price will cover carriage and planting costs..........