Charleville Community Golf Club recently hosted a successful Community Tree Planting Day, bringing local volunteers together to create a new mini-forest that will benefit biodiversity, climate resilience, and community wellbeing for years to come.

The planting day formed part of the Community Forest and Citizen Science Programme, funded through the LEADER 2023–2027 Programme and delivered by Ballyhoura Development CLG in partnership with The Living Woodlands.

Ballyhoura Development worked in partnership with Charleville Community Golf Club, which is part of the Ballyhoura Regenerative & Sustainability Tourism Network. The network supports businesses, communities, and organisations committed to a regenerative approach to tourism — one that aims to give back more than it takes by benefiting local communities, protecting the environment, and strengthening the long-term resilience of the Ballyhoura region. 

A Community Effort for Biodiversity

On the day, community members, volunteers, club members, and project partners rolled up their sleeves to plant 750 native Irish trees, including Crab Apple, Spindle, Holly, Alder, Oak, Birch, Hawthorn, Scots Pine, Hazel, and Guelder Rose.

Participants learned best-practice planting techniques and gained hands-on experience in creating a mini-forest using the Miyawaki Japanese method of forest planting. This technique involves planting trees closer together to encourage the rapid creation of dense, biodiverse forests in smaller areas. The trees planted are expected to grow to approximately four metres within two years.

As the mini-forest matures, it will play an important role in enhancing local biodiversity, providing habitat for wildlife, improving soil and air quality, and strengthening the area’s resilience to climate change. 

Building Long-Term Community Stewardship

The tree-planting day also marked the beginning of a longer journey for Charleville Community Golf Club, with ongoing support through training in woodland care and maintenance, as well as citizen science activities.

These activities will help the community monitor biodiversity over time and stay actively involved in caring for the forest as it matures.

The CBS students who assisted with spreading bark mulch around the trees across the site.

Looking Ahead

Ballyhoura Development would like to thank everyone who took part and helped make the day such a success. The Charleville planting is one of a number of community mini-forests being developed across the region, demonstrating the power of local action in supporting climate and biodiversity goals.