NI Water to plant one million trees on its estate

Northern Ireland Water has announced plans to plant one million trees on its estate and hopes to complete the work within a decade.

All the trees will be native species and most will be deciduous broadleaves.

It will contribute to an executive proposal to plant 18 million trees over the next 10 years.

Environment Minister Edwin Poots attended the launch in the Mournes, where the first planting will take place.

From January 2021 almost 15,000 trees will be planted on land bordering NI Water's Fofanny Dam and water treatment works outside Hilltown.

Northern Ireland is one of the least wooded areas in Europe, with about 8% tree cover.

A further 25,000 will be planted next to the Dunore Water Treatment Works on the shores of Lough Neagh in County Antrim.

The work will be done under the guidance of the Woodland Trust.

Its chief executive, Ian McCurley, said the idea was to plant the "right tree in the right place" for carbon sequestration and to improve biodiversity.

Environmental impact assessments will be done on every site where planting is planned.

NI Water's Alistair Jinks said as the second biggest landowner in Northern Ireland the utility believed it could help with progress on climate action.

Another 220,000 trees will be planted in a second phase by March 2022 subject to funding approval with the rest in subsequent years.