Documentaries on KCLR

The JFK Arboretum was conceived as a memorial to honour American President John F Kennedy following his assassination in 1963.  The site at New Ross Co Wexford was picked due to it's proximity to his ancestral homestead and due it's mild climate, diverse soil types and variations in elevation.

Kevin Naughton is head gardener at the arboretum and he takes Monica around the park, stopping at intervals to show the broad ranges of trees that they have in their collection.  The trees are mainly breed from wild seed collections and the arboretum features trees from Asia to Australia, the parts of America and Europe. It's managed by the OPW under the co-ordination of the Botanic Gardens in Dublin and it's five principles of being are as a centre of education, recreation, research, conservation and demonstration.  

There is lots of wildlife and biodiversity at the arboretum which is nurtured and sustained through various practices which include allowing the grasses to grow during the summer months.  

Over the years many storms and the two most recent hurricanes have taken down a lot of trees at the park causing it to close for sometimes months at a time.  These storms are becoming more frequent and could well be indicative of the changes in weather being caused by the warming of our planet.

In fact, climate change is being studied at the Phenological Gardens at the JFK Arboretum.  Kathleen Carroll, has for the past 40 years being recording the dates of the seasonal cycles of the trees.  She has found that spring is coming 2 to 3 weeks earlier than when she first began her data collection.  Will our trees be able to adapt to these changes in climate, and what sort of trees will be best suited to climate in the coming years?

Climate change and habitat loss is having a huge impact on the diversity of conifers around the world.  As part of their conservation role, the JFK Arboretum is taking part in the International Conifer Conservation Project (ICCP).  Gary Mentanko is in charge of this project at the arboretum. He explains that 1/3 of the conifers around the world are under threat and that the arboretum is planting 1,300 threatened conifers over the next year in the hopes that they can save the genetic diversity of these important trees.

The Bunburys have lived at Lisnavagh House for over 300 years.  Their home sits on 600 acres of which 200 acres is woodland, mainly native hardwoods.  

Over the years storms have taken down some of the old trees.  William Bunbury of Lisnavagh, on looking at them being removed to the sawmill and seeing all the tonnes of wood in them, felt that he could add value to them.  Thus, he came up with the concept of Bunbury Boards and Lisnavagh Timber Project.  

Bunbury Boards are chopping boards which are made from the trees that fall in the estate.  The Lisnavagh Timber Project sells planks of hardwood timber for furniture making; they also make the furniture for their customers too.  

Each year William hires a mobile sawmill to come and cut the trees which have fallen due to storms or which have been removed due to ill-health.  He air drys the planks of wood in open sheds until such time as they are ready for the kiln.  When properly dried the timber is then ready to be processed into chopping boards or furniture.  

William also uses the wood as firewood to heat the big house and other cottages on the estate which saves oil and reduces their fuel bill, he also uses some of the wood in new building projects - like the new venue built 5 years ago for weddings or yoga retreats.

William appreciates the trees and the wood they produce and always looks forward to see what the timber will look like once it's milled.  

The Castlecomer Discovery Park is situated on the site of the former pleasure gardens of the Wandesforde Family, members of the landed gentry, who for 300 years, were central to the farming and coal mining activities in the area. Some of the trees that they brought back from their trips in Europe and elsewhere still stand at the park and a favourite among many people is the giant Redwood - with its soft spongey bark. Len Brophy is the maintenance man at the Discovery Park, and he introduces us to a few favourite trees in the area.  
 
 The Discovery Park was developed as a tribute to the mining traditions in the area and over the years it has evolved to incorporate adventure activities like Zip Lines, kayaking, boating and of course the Tree Top Walk.  According to Jo McCarthy, Activities Manager at the Park, nature, the trees and the successful completion of the challenge of the Tree Top Walk can bring huge benefits to children and improve their confidence and connections with each other.  Learning is also accelerated in the outdoors and while forest bathing and other outdoor activities are almost mandatory in other countries, Ireland is only beginning to embrace it.  
 
 The Discovery Park has responded to the magic of the woods by building an elf village where fairy houses and wooden toadstools capture the imagination of all visitors including the craft workers who sell their wares at the retail centre in the park.  Dominika Stoppa makes lino-prints inspired by the trees and fairies.  She also painted the - 'Be A Climate Change Hero' artwork at the entrance to the park.
 
 Kathy Purcell, General Manager of the Discovery Park believes that they have a powerful role to play in spreading the message about climate change, especially given the carbon history of the area in relation to coal mining; coal being a major cause of the global warming we are experiencing now.  The 80 acres of woodland, managed by Coillte, might help them reach their target of balancing out the carbon extracted, and carbon sunk back into the soil through the efforts they are making
 
 Like all non-profit organisations, the Discovery Park is dependent on funding to keep themselves going in the off-season.  Leader, Pobal, Kilkenny County Council have all been important in this regard.  More recently they have been successful in obtaining funding from the Department of Agriculture to run a mental health and wellbeing course for farmers in the park.  Manager Kathy Purcell believes that the park and woodland's continued presence in the area adds to what Kilkenny has to offer in relation to a tourist destination. 
 

Over the years humans observed and studied trees and this research continues in Teagasc where scientists explore the different aspects of trees to maximise their potential in relation to timber and biodiversity attributes.  

This programme begins by using the Marteloscope Training plot to determine how the decisions a forestry owner makes during the thinning processes will impact on the objectives they have for their forestry.  Sometimes a tree will be thinned based on its height and diameter which may be smaller than another tree close to it.  By removing the smaller tree, the other tree will have more room to growth and therefore it will be more valuable in relation to its timber.  In other situations that same small tree might be kept if the landowner wants to maintain a certain biodiversity level and that tree, though small, has lots of little nooks and crannies for insects and birds to live in and feed from.  

Biodiversity is an important part of forestry and the more diverse a system the more resilient it will be in the face of shocks in the form of pests or storms.  Farmers who planted monocultures of ash trees are realising this now because so many of the ash trees are dying from ash die back disease.

There is ongoing research into ash die back and results show that 15% of ash trees currently being monitored by Teagasc have a certain degree of tolerance to the disease.  The work now is to breed these trees and test them to make sure that their progeny is also resistant.  Research is also investigating the possible role of the trees microbiome in defending the fungal infection from gaining too strong a foothold in the tree.

Other research projects at Teagasc involve the improvement of the alder and the downy and silver birch trees.  Birch trees weren't traditionally known for their timber value but due to the tree breeding programme at Teagasc the researchers have been able to select for trees that tick all the boxes in relation to timber and biodiversity attributes and these birch seeds are now being used by farmers who decide to grow them as part of the forestry grant scheme.  

For landowners, making the decision to grow trees is not a simple one.  Teagasc provides an advisory service to support them in this process and the tree research helps to refine this advice.  Farmers can then feedback to the advisors on how they got on and this can then help the researchers to refine their processes even further if needs be. 

Agroforestry seems to be the answer to farmers worries in relation to trees and taking land out of use for 50 or 60 years - which is the case under the traditional grant aided forestry scheme.  With agroforestry the trees are planted at a lower density and the normal farm practises - like grazing and silage making are carried on as normal.  

Jim McAdam pioneered the system in Northern Ireland and in this programme we hear him deliver a talk at a farm walk in Headford Co Galway where he goes through the benefits of agroforestry and the findings from 30 years of research into the system.  Not only do trees provide welfare benefits to the animals on the site in relation to shelter and shade, the trees presence also means that the land is better drained and the animals can stay out for longer - a farmer doesn't have to bring the animals in as early to house them over winter.  This has knock on effects in relation to ammonia emissions.  Trees also sequester carbon and under an agroforestry scheme the carbon is bound more tightly in the soil and isn't as easily lost to the atmosphere as a result.  

Eugene Curran is a district forestry inspector with the Department of Agriculture and he along with Liam Kelly, Teagasc Forestry Advisor, explains the processes whereby interested farmers and landowners can find out more about the Agroforestry scheme.  Listen to this if you are a farmer on the fence!

People are buying their Christmas Trees earlier than before.  That's according to Michael O'Gorman of Celtic Christmas Trees who has been working hard the past month harvesting, packing, delivering and selling his Christmas Trees. They are of the Nordmann Fir variety - rather than Nobel Fir, which is finnicky to grow and requires a particular soil type.  Nordmann Fir keep their needles but they don't smell as nice as the Nobels.  

A huge amount of work goes into caring for Christmas Trees.  After they reach a certain age they require yearly pruning and de-budding to achieve a nice shape.  Each year, says Michel, 'each tree is handled 4 or 5 times'.  

60% of people surveyed as part of this Trees series have artificial rather than real Christmas Trees.  It would be nice if more people bought real Christmas trees.  It supports the local economy - Michael employs 10 or 12 people at this time of the year, it's more environmentally friendly compared to the plastic artificial ones and once they are replanted each year they are a good carbon sink.

Michael plans to retire in ten years time.  He planted his last tree last year.  He has been into trees all his life and he has enjoyed the Christmas trees.  Other people do too.  Michael tells of a man who works in finance who takes December off to sell Christmas trees!  

Ballintemple Tree Nursery is situated just outside Ardattin Co Carlow and it is here that Coillte process their seeds and rear trees from seed for planting out into the forest,

In this programme we visit the nursery and meet Dermot O'Leary Nursery Manager and Monica Murphy, Seed and Veg Propagation Manager.  Monica explains the process of seed stratification where seeds are first extracted from their casings and then exposed to a series of treatments - be it alternative hot and cold temperatures - in order to break dormancy.  They process 25 - 30 different seeds at the nursery and if they are not used immediately, they are put in cold storage for use later.

The seeds are planted out in seed beds in the fields that form part of the 130 hectare site and are cared for until they reach a certain height.  They are then lifted and graded and transplanted to the forest to begin their new life there.

Currently 80 people are employed at Ballintemple.  This is their busiest time of year - when the trees are being lifted,  and the dry spell at the moment is helping the process immensely.  

In this programme we meet Mick Power, National Estates Manager with Coillte with responsibility of biotic risk.  We meet in the beautiful Castlemorris Woods in Co Kilkenny where a mixture of lots of different trees flourish and grow.  In an area within the woods is an enclosed 2-hectare site which is the clonal bank for ash die bank resistant trees.  These trees were gathered from places all over Ireland and continental Europe and have been planted in these woods and so far, 40% out of 600 trees gathered are still healthy.

The loss of ash from our hedgerows and fields is massive from an environmental point of view.  It also impacts on an important part of our culture - hurling and the making of hurls.  There is a demand for 360,000 hurls annually in Ireland and this industry is important to support.  This programme features Tom O'Donohue a 4th generation hurley maker from Drakelands Kilkenny.  Tom talks about the importance of the Irish ash, the unique softness of the wood that makes it easy to work with and the potential evolution of bamboo and carbon fibre hurls.

So as the industry keeps its fingers crossed for the continued good health of the ash die back resistant trees, Mick Power calls for all of us to be careful in relation to moving organic material around the world.  As our climate changes the trees in Ireland could become more susceptible to other pests and diseases that could cause further damage to our woods and forests.

Oak accounts for only 2.7% of our Irish forests which is low compared to Sitka Spruce which accounts for 51.1% of the trees in Ireland.  In this programme we meet farmer Ger Daly who, in 1999 planted an Oak Forest with the help of Coillte.  Ger talks about the process of getting the oaks established, the Scots Pine as nurse trees, and the pruning that he did on them to help them grow straight with a long stem.  Now 22 years later a potential new use for these oak trees has emerged - as staves to make whiskey barrels

Bernard Walsh is founder and managing director of Walsh Whiskey based in Carlow.  Bernard explains the role of the wood in adding flavour to the whiskey and the traditions around using ex-bourbon barrels.  Because whiskey distillers are always experimenting, Bernard does not rule out using Irish Oak barrels as a 'finish' in the maturation process.  But, he says, 'we need to think long term.  Plant now for the next century'

The Independent Stave Company is a relatively new company which imports barrels to Ireland to furnish the growing demand for casks.  Audrey Gleeson of the Independent Stave Company explains what they do and indicates that they are already visiting oak plantations in Ireland to see if Irish Oak could be used in barrel making

In the meantime, the coopers are re-gathering in Ireland and a profession that had all but been lost is getting a new lease of life.  Ian Leonard is running Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ireland, a new cooperage in Kildare and Enguerrand Vandenbossche is a French cooper working from Tullamore Dew Distillery.  They talk about their work and about the real need to train more Irish coopers to sustain the growing whiskey market in Ireland.  

And while Ger Daly's oaks slowly come to maturation for their potential use as staves he takes his time to enjoy them and be with them - something that as he gets older, he appreciates more.

Trees and water courses have evolved together over thousands of years to their mutual benefit.  As humans, we benefit from trees near water courses because they hold the rainwater and have a huge role to play in the slowing down of flood waters.  Protection forests are big in some European countries says Michael Somers, Forestry Advisor with Teagasc Kilkenny - trees could be our flood protectors, especially if we get the wet weather due with climate change.  

But we must be careful when harvesting trees near water courses.  Sediment from the harvesting process can enter rivers and streams and can cause terrible damage to the plants and animals living there.  Eibhlín Vaughan is from Crosspatrick in Co Kilkenny, and she is doing her PhD in Sediment and Water and Trees as part of the Hydrosed project at UCD.  The results of her work will ensure that Ireland can achieve 18% forestry cover without impinging on our obligations as part of the Water Framework Directive.

Nowadays buffer zones mean that trees can't be planted up to the banks of rivers and streams.  However, if a farmer was to plant outside a buffer zone that was near a water course, then Michael Somers recommends a Native Woodland managed on a continuous cover management system.  Hear all about this in the 7th programme in Trees: From Seed to Sawdust - Trees and Water