These vibrant year-old native trees survived and are producing foliage despite dry spells last summer and a wet, wet January 2026. The saplings were planted on a ¼ acre in the grounds of the Daughters of Charity in Blackrock Co Dublin, as part of their commitment to care of ‘our common home’ which attempts to mitigate climate change. The initiative was part of the ‘100 Million Trees Project’- a National Not-for-Profit initiative being run by Richard, David and Tina Mulcahy. The project has four aims:
- to plant 100 million Native Irish trees across the island of Ireland over the next decade
- to increase the native Irish tree population,
- to add to the biodiversity throughout the country
- to help mitigate carbon dioxide output in Ireland
The project’s ambitious aim is to densely plant up to 2,500 native Irish trees per Mini Forest in ¼ acre sites using ‘the Miyawaki method’. Named after Japanese Botanist, Professor Akira Miyawaki, who developed the technique in the 1970s to restore degraded land. The Miyawaki Method of overplanting trees has been used in over 3,000 mini forests worldwide. Planting excess trees together creates more rapid growth, greatly increased density, enhancing biodiversity significantly and importantly, facilitates a very rapid carbon sink. The Miyawaki approach requires much smaller planting areas and can be carried out on unused or fallow land across Ireland.
The trees planted on this ¼ acre site include: Wild Cherry, European Bird Cherry, Blackthorn, Dogrose, Guelder Rose, Crab Apple, Common Alder, Downy Birch, Oak, Hawthorn, Whitethorn, Scots Pine, Rowan, Hazel, Spindle.