It’s Ireland’s annual Tetra Pak Tree Day this week – so get the kids ready to plant lots of new leafy friends at school, in the garden at home or in the local community.
The Tree Day, this year on 5 October, is organised by the Tree Council of Ireland with the Green Schools, sponsored by Tetra Pak in association with Avonmore School Milk.
Schools around the country spend the day learning about trees while being outside enjoying the wonders of our natural environment. This year the theme is “Our Planet, Our Choice”, which should get their imaginations working overtime! Schools can take part in guided tree and woodland walks, a golden opportunity for children, teachers and parents to connect directly with trees, nature and the outdoors. To find out more about Tree Day, visit the website, www.treeday.ie.
Each year a different native tree is highlighted on Tree Day and this year it’s the oak. There are dozens of different oak trees you can choose from. The best known is the familiar, much-loved native English oak, invaluable to wildlife as it’s said to support hundreds of different species of plant, insect, bird and mammal in its spreading branches.
But you don’t need to stop there: you can enjoy the brilliant scarlet autumn colours and handsome, architectural leaves of the red oak, Quercus rubra, the lovely textured bark of the cork oak, Q. suber; and even dwarf oaks and varieties that grow naturally columnar. Drop by the garden centre here in Athlone and we’ll show you our selection of ornamental oak trees for planting in your own garden. It’s the perfect time right now, too, when the soil is still warm from summer and the soft autumn rains have started to fall, meaning young trees establish really quickly ready to burst into growth next year.
