Train Hugger Planting Projects

Replacing Non Native Tres in Lough Neagh

Tree Planting

Replacing Non Native Tres in Lough Neagh

This exciting project on the edge of Lough Neagh (part of the Lough Neagh and Lough Beg Special Protection Area), seeks to replace diseased ash and non-native sycamore trees with native trees for biodiversity. Oak, beech, cherry, apple, hawthorn and hazel trees will be planted in this woodland to help improve the woodland structure and encourage more wildlife, including badgers, bats and woodland birds.

This project is in partnership with: 

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Listed below are some of the trees planting on this site

The common hazel is native to Europe and western Asia and forms an important part of England’s hedgerows. We have all heard of hazelnuts, which are rich in unsaturated fats and protein, and an extremely popular ingredient in many of the world’s cuisines. Did you know that hazel trees were once seen as both magical and a symbol of fertility?
Hazel
Hawthorn is very much associated with the month of May, and the appearance of its bright, white flowers heralds the change from spring to summer. It is prolific in hedgerows, scrub and woodland throughout the UK and Ireland, and a single tree can grow as tall as 10m. In pagan times, hawthorn was a symbol of marriage and fertility, but in the Middle Ages, it was never brought into homes, as people believed it was a harbinger of illness and death.
Hawthorn
If the oak is the king of British trees, then the beech is its queen.A dense canopy of leaves provides a rich habitat for all sorts of insects, its seeds are popular with mice and squirrels, and hole-nesting birds make their homes in beech trunks.Some of the UK’s tallest native trees are beeches, including one that stands at over 44m tall on the National Trust's Devil's Dyke Estate in West Sussex.‍
Beech
Crab apple trees grow throughout Europe and can live for up to a century, reaching a height of around 10m. This tree is traditionally associated with love and marriage, and it is said that if you say the name of your lover while throwing crab apple pips into a fire, then your love is true if the seeds explode! Crab apples can be made into jelly, roasted and added to drinks, or served as an accompaniment to meat.
Crab Apple
Stunning white cherry blossoms burst forth in April, heralding the arrival of spring and bringing joy to parks and gardens. Mature cherry trees can live for up to 60 years, and provide a great source of food for birds, bees, insects and small animals like badgers and mice. Our ancestors would boil wild cherries and make them into a syrup to treat a range of ailments including coughs and anaemia.
Wild Cherry
Also known as the common or English oak, this is the undisputed king of the woods, supporting more wildlife species than any other native tree in the UK. “Robur” in this oak’s Latin name means “strength” and “hard timber” because this tree produces incredibly durable wood which can be used to make many things, including furniture and flooring. The oak has been considered sacred by many gods in mythology throughout the ages.
Pedunculate Oak
Other Train Hugger Projects

Continue reading more about our planting projects

Somerset Acorn Project
Replacing Non Native Tres in Lough Neagh
Pembrokeshire Cricket Bat Willow
Storm Recovery in Berwickshire 2
Storm Recovery in Berwickshire 1
Spruce Replacement in West Sussex
Trees not Brambles in Co.Tyrone
Linking Woodlands in County Antrim
County Antrim New and Old
Case Study: County Down 3
Replacing Non Native Trees in NI
South Tyrone planting for biodiversity
Experimental Planting in Country Tyrone
County Armagh: Different Growth Rates for Better Biodiversity
Case Study: County Down 2
Case Study: County Down 1
Devon Gum Trees
Case Study: Planting for Resilience in Buckinghamshire
Case Study: Conversion of Conifer Plantation to Mixed Broadleaves
Hampshire Mixed Woodlands
North Yorkshire Spruce
Case Study: Saving a Hampshire Woodland from Disease
Devon Beech Trees
West Sussex Broadleaf Trees
Norfolk Oaks
Case Study: Storm Resilience in Northumberland
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