A brief explanation of why I’m so keen on growing trees.
There’s now no doubt that we humans are changing the climate to our’s and the planet ecosystems detriment; by burning fossil fuel.
When I first came to Ireland, like most I harvested and burnt turf, though while others continue this environmentally damaging practice I stopped within a couple of years.
I still have my wood stove and will continue to burn wood, though it is sustainable high quality Eucalyptus.
Trees don’t just capture carbon, and provide sustainable fuel for stoves !
They:
- Regulate water flow, helping to prevent flooding.
- Dredge up nutrients for deeper in the ground, making them available to other plants and in return animals; we humans are also animals.
- You can build / make things from trees.
- They provide shade and shelter.
- They cool the planet, temperatures in a forest can be 5℃ cooler than in an open meadow or heath in the same area. This is because they transpire, much like us humans sweating.
- Remove toxins from the soil, Paulownia are considered to be amongst the best trees for this purpose.
For whatever reason I’ve always been interested in Eucalyptus trees, and now I had an acre to plant a few, I did, and today I now have what I call a mini forest, and if you have spare land, I’d highly recommend fast growing Eucalyptus trees.
I’m still learning about Eucalyptus trees:
- Which varieties grow best here in Ireland; frost hardiness, resilience to strong gales, suitability to grow in boggy wet ground, etc.
- The most efficient and effective way to plant them.