Just like new residents, new trees want to put down roots!

Many new trees have been planted throughout Skerries this year. And they need our help! It has not been raining much, and the forecast indicates very little rain on the way.

Earlier this year we saw many newly planted trees appear in the new housing estates (Ballygossan, Barnageeragh, Hamilton Hill) and alongside what are now known as Barnageeragh Road (previously the Distributor Road) and Harrison Cove Road (previously Northcliffe Heights). There are also some recently planted trees near Prosper Fingal that need watering.

It’s great to have lots of trees but they all need minding, especially in the first year.

Fingal County Council tell us that in more normal times they would always water newly planted trees over the first two summers after planting.  Regrettably the Council  is not in a position to carry out watering at this time as it is not a work task that can be done on the scale required while maintaining the recommended physical distancing.

These are very unusual times and Skerries must look to the great volunteering spirit of its residents to help.  If we can water the new trees outside, or near our homes we can save these trees, but it must be done in a way that keeps people safe.

Let’s adopt a tree!

Give one of the newly planted trees some water (at least 5l at a time, ideally 1.5 gallons) every second day. You could, for instance, fill an empty large water container (or 2-3 two-litre bottles), put them in your backpack and bring them with you when out on your walk, then water a tree that seems to not have been watered yet by another adopter. Let’s keep our trees healthy! But keep ourselves healthy too, by keeping our distance.

Good to see that residents in Barnageeragh Cove have got the ball rolling on this as have residents in the town centre and a number of individual tree water bearers around the estates.

Skerries Community Association

Skerries Tidy Towns

Sustainable Skerries

The Skerries Tree Preservation Group