Calls made for more trees to be planted in Louth by LCC after record low in 2020

Just 150 trees were planted by Louth County Council in 2020, the lowest number since the council began recording data in 2017.

It comes as the number of trees planted by LCC across the last four years has never risen over 500 in a year, and in the last three years hasn’t risen over 260 trees planted.

According to recent LCC Annual Reports, the highest number of trees planted by LCC in a single year was in 2017, with 500 trees planted. This number has declined in recent years, with 200 being planted in 2018, 260 planted in 2019 and 150 in 2020. The total number of trees planted by LCC in the last four years stands at 1,110.

Green Party Councillor Marianne Butler said that 150 trees planted in 2020 was “pretty poor” and that LCC needs to improve on planting trees into the future.

At a recent meeting of LCC, Cllr Butler queried the figure of 150, with the Chief Executive Joan Martin saying that this was due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Just 2.9% of Louth's area is covered by forests this is something we need to improve on, with a focus on native species of trees,” said Cllr Butler.

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