Dublin, Dublin (FUA), Ireland
City population: 1894440
Duration: 2023 – 2023
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Project area: 4500 m2
Type of area: Public Greenspace Area
Last updated: September 2024

This project aimed to create an urban forest that will grow within Dublin’s Darndale Park, which is popular among students and sports clubs. The objective is to offer the community a green area where they can gather, appreciate nature, and enhance their knowledge about it. The new forest will act as a windbreak for the nearby fishing pond and aims to address challenges related to heatwaves that endanger the lives of young and elderly people. To foster a sense of inclusion and unity, the forest is designed in a doughnut shape, consisting of 3,000 native species like oaks, birch, willow, and hazel, with the trees forming the outer ring (1, 2). This urban forestation initiative is a component of the Uforest project, which is funded by the European Commission and supported by Etifor (environmental consulting company established within the Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry of the University of Padua) and Ersaf (an instrumental body of the Lombardy Region) . The Uforest project seeks to enhance Europe's innovation capacity by fostering collaboration among universities, cities, and businesses to develop a novel approach to urban forestry (1).

Dublin’s Darndale Park with an open meadow and a fishing pond
Dublin’s Darndale Park
Ref.1

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Parks and urban forests
  • Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces

Key challenges

  • Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Environmental quality
  • Air quality improvement
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation
  • Improving mental health
  • Improving physical health
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Social cohesion
  • Social justice and equity
  • Social interaction
  • Environmental education
  • Sense of community and community engagement

Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)

  • Climate-Related Hazards
  • Heat stress & Extreme temperatures
  • Environmental Degradation
  • Biodiversity loss
  • Deforestation and forest degradation
  • Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
  • Mental health issues (stress, anxiety)
  • Disconnection from nature
  • Loss of sense of place and identity
  • Poor community engagement

Key priorities

Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Social Justice and community

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Creation of large parks and urban and peri-urban forests, Maintenance and management of urban nature, n.a., Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Sustainable use of natural resources to improve livelihoods and food security (eg. community- based wildlife or forest management), Educational and awareness raising programs

Project objectives

The goals of the intervention focus on: - Provide the community with a green space to spend time together (enjoying nature and learning more about it) for recreational and educational activities while provide shelter and enhance an existing fishpond (1); - Raise awareness of the benefits urban green space can provide to both the environment and local communities while equipping students with basic skills in planting and caring for trees (8, 2); - Mitigate the effects of climate change while improving air quality, urban temperature and lifestyle of modern cities by planting a target of 3000 trees (2,5); - Support the local community by enhancing citizens' well-being and health, as well as promoting social inclusion, cohesion, and equity (2).

Implementation activities

The forest was planted in December 2023 during the first European Urban Forest Week, transforming theory into practice (Etifor). Local school children and volunteers planted 3,000 native trees, including oak, birch, willow, and hazel, across 4,500 square meters. The goal was to raise awareness of the benefits of nature while equipping students with basic skills in planting and caring for trees (Ref. 8). Uforest, the initiator, focused on fostering innovation and knowledge in urban forestry. To achieve this, the project created high-quality materials and learning opportunities to enhance understanding of the potential benefits of urban forests (Ref. 2).

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

  • Increase urban vegetation cover to reduce urban heat island effect
  • Reducing socio-economic vulnerability to climate impacts (e.g. awareness raising)

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity restoration:

  • Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
  • Public engagement

Main beneficiaries

  • Local government/Municipality
  • Non-government organisation/Civil Society
  • Researchers/University
  • Citizens or community groups
  • Young people and children

Governance

Management set-up

  • Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Researchers/university

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
  • Dissemination of information and education
  • Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

Led by Trinity College Dublin’s Centre for Social Innovation, with support from Dublin City Council, who provided the site, trees and ongoing maintenance, the project involved pupils from Our Lady Immaculate National School and volunteers in planting native trees (Refs. 3, 5). The intervention is part of a EU co-funded project. For this project EU and several private sector actors provided the funds.

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Yes (Cities4Forests Initiative, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, European Union Biodiversity Strategy 2030, European Union Nature Restoration Plan (14, p.38))
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Yes (Dublin City Tree Strategy (14, p.56))

Type of enablers

Support from transitional governance actors

Financing

Total cost

Unknown

Source(s) of funding

  • Corporate investment
  • EU funds

Type of funding

  • Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

Type of non-financial contribution
  • Provision of land
  • Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
  • Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
  • Citizens (e.g. volunteering)

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Environmental quality
  • Improved protection against strong wind
  • Expected improved protection against strong wind
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased number of species present
  • Achieved increased number of species present

Economic impacts

  • Generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
  • Expected generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved social cohesion
  • Expected improved social cohesion
  • Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
  • Expected increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
  • Increased opportunities for social interaction
  • Expected increased opportunities for social interaction
  • Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
  • Expected increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
  • Cultural heritage and sense of place
  • Improvement in people’s connection to nature
  • Expected improvement in people’s connection to nature
  • Education
  • Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
  • Expected increased knowledge of locals about local nature

Type of reported impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Yes

Presence of indicators used in reporting

Yes

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

Yes

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs

Unknown

References

1.
WOWnature (n.d.). Darndale Donut. WOWnature, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Uforest (n.d.). European Urban Forest Week. Uforest, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Fletcher, L. (2024). Initiative to see thousands of trees planted in Darndale. RTÉ, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Pacer (n.d.). Darndale Park. Pacer, [Source link];
5.
Trinity College Dublin (2023). Darndale urban forest collaboration led by Trinity and Dublin City Council. Trinity College Dublin, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Trinity College Dublin (2024). Green Week 2024 - 'Healthy Planet, Healthy People'. Trinity College Dublin, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Nolan, J. (2020). Darndale: A Long View at an Enduring Challenge – A Socio Economic & Community Plan. Dublin City Council 2020, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
8.
Darndale Together (2024). Darndale joins Barcelona and Milan in urban forest initiative. Darndale Together, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Irish Independent (2023). Darndale community gathers to plant 3000 trees. Irish Independent, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
10.
Dublin Guide (n.d.). Darndale Park. Dublin Guide, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
11.
Etifor (n.d.). Uforest Project. Promoting a new approach to Urban Forestry in Europe. Etifor, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
12.
WOWnature (2023). A new urban forest in Dublin. WOWnature, Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
13.
Pino, J., Florido, F., O’Driscoll, C., Doimo, I., Konijnendijk, C. (2020). Blueprint for Innovation in Urban Forestry . Uforest, p. 29 Accessed on August 8, 2024, [Source link];
14.
Dublin City Council (2021). Dublin City Biodiversity Action Plan 2021-2025 . Dublin City Council, Accessed on August 12, 2024, [Source link];
Community planting trees
Community planting trees in Dublin’s Darndale Park
Ref. 3
naturescapes bannerInformation about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.