At many of Afri’s regular events, such as Féile Bríde, their Famine Walks and Hedge Schools, they have planted a tree to reflect their commitment to living in peace and justice with our species and our planet. In 2021 Afri plans an exciting new chapter in this decades-long tradition. This will involve planting 18 trees or plants, corresponding with the 18 letters of the ancient Irish alphabet. Uniquely, each letter in that Gaelic/Celtic alphabet is named for a tree or a plant: Ailm (Elm), Beith (Birch), Coll (Hazel), Dair (Oak) and so on. When it comes to preserving our ancient forests, Ireland has fared particularly poorly: a decline from an initial forest cover of around 80% to the lowest forest cover of all European countries: approximately 11%, compared to a current European average of well over 30%.
This AFri project will evolve along many lines. They plan to invite partners to join them in hosting a complete ‘forest’ of 18 trees/plants, or perhaps each to host one tree among 18 dotted around the island. This project will provide a way of looking forward to a more hopeful future – when we will have a greater appreciation of the splendour of our Planet and when we will again have broad leaf forests flourishing throughout our island. For more information, contact [email protected] or [email protected]