Dublin 5, Dublin (FUA), Ireland
City population: 1894440
Duration: 2008 – 2019
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Project area: unknown
Type of area: Cultural Heritage Area, Public Greenspace Area
Last updated: October 2024

Ireland’s native trees have developed over thousands of years, forming a vibrant ecosystem alongside surrounding plants, animals, fungi, and microbes. These trees provide critical habitats for plants and wildlife, offering essential food and shelter while producing oxygen vital to animals and humans alike. Historically, native trees supplied early Irish communities with fuel, food, shelter, and building materials. Today, they play a modern role in filtering dust, reducing pollution, and enriching urban spaces. To highlight these benefits in Dublin, the Native Tree Trail in St. Anne's Park was created by DCC Parks and Landscape Services in 2008. This trail, featuring 15 different types of native trees, invites visitors to explore and appreciate the natural and cultural heritage of Ireland's native trees, underscoring the value of green spaces for both biodiversity and community well-being. Strategic tree placement contributes to Dublin’s sustainability by reducing soil erosion, sequestering carbon, and mitigating urban heat. A green city is a healthy city, and preserving open spaces enhances its appeal as a place to live, work, and visit. The trail also plays an essential role in environmental education and community engagement. Over the years, St. Anne's Park has hosted multiple tree-planting events, including a 2019 collaboration with local schools for National Tree Week and National Tree Day, in partnership with the Tree Council of Ireland. The NGO has also offered family-friendly guided walks along the trail, helping to instill an appreciation for nature in visitors of all ages (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, p.93).

Native Tree Trail at St. Anne’s Park
St. Anne’s Park
Ref. 2

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Parks and urban forests
  • Large urban parks or forests

Key challenges

  • Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Climate change mitigation
  • Environmental quality
  • Air quality improvement
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Habitat and biodiversity restoration
  • Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
  • Preservation of natural heritage
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Environmental education

Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)

  • Climate-Related Hazards
  • Heat stress & Extreme temperatures
  • Environmental Degradation
  • Soil degradation and loss

Key priorities

Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration)

Focus

Maintenance and management of urban nature, Maintenance or upgrade of exisiting green spaces (e.g. parks), Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Educational and awareness raising programs

Project objectives

To explore the rich social and natural history of native trees and promote native tree planting and biodiversity To provide essential food and shelter for plants and wildlife. To produce vital oxygen for animals and humans, sequester atmospheric carbon, and mitigate urban heat through strategic tree placement. To filter dust and pollution from the environment and reduce soil erosion. To offer natural breaks and green spaces within park areas. To provide tours on environmental education (2, 3)

Implementation activities

The St. Anne's Park Native Tree Trail showcases 15 native Irish trees, each marked with informative signage. These include: Scots Pine, Willow, Bird Cherry, Yew, Ash, Aspen, Mountain Ash, Elder, Hawthorn, Hazel, Alder, Crab Apple, Holly, Oak, and Birch. Created to deepen public appreciation for native trees, the trail also highlights the environmental and cultural significance of Ireland’s tree heritage. The trail features 9 stops each with various highlights such as native trees and plant symbolism (Trees such as Oak, Ash, and Elm are symbolically linked to qualities like hospitality, grandeur, and dignity) and wildlife (Birds such as owls, curlews, kestrels, and common species like magpies inhabit the area, especially near the Front Lawn, which is flanked by Copper Beech and Weeping Elm trees) In 2019, Dublin City Council partnered with the Tree Council of Ireland to support tree-planting activities with local schools during National Tree Week and National Tree Day. Events included guided walks led by experts who shared insights into the unique characteristics of these native trees, concluding with a ceremonial planting. Participants were encouraged to ask questions and immerse themselves in Ireland’s native woodland. The NGO also organized family-friendly guided walks along the trail, specially designed to engage children and inspire curiosity about the natural world (1-3, 5, 7).

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

  • Implement measures that prevent/manage desertification, soil erosion and landslides
  • Increase urban vegetation cover to reduce urban heat island effect

Climate change mitigation:

  • Increase the availability of green urban space for carbon storage (street tree cover)

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity restoration:

  • Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
  • Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
  • Restore native species
  • Public engagement

Main beneficiaries

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

Governance

Management set-up

  • Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Local government/municipality

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Dissemination of information and education
  • Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The Native Tree Trails program was developed by DCC Parks and Landscape Services in 2008 as a part of the Tree Strategy for the city Of Dublin. Dublin City Council further supported this initiative by promoting school tree-planting activities in collaboration with an NGO, Tree Council of Ireland (5). The NGO organized guided walks along the St. Anne's Tree Trail for families and different groups (7).

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Yes (EU Biodiversity Strategy (5, p.97))
... a national policy or strategy? Yes ( Native Tree Trails programme, National Tree Week and National Tree Day; • National Biodiversity Action Plan 2017-2021 (5, p.96-97))
... a local policy or strategy? Yes (Dublin City Tree Strategy; - Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022 (5, p.95))

Type of enablers

Unknown

Financing

Total cost

Unknown

Source(s) of funding

  • Public local authority budget

Type of funding

  • Earmarked public budget

Non-financial contribution

No

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Climate change
  • Lowered local temperature
  • Expected lowered local temperature
  • Enhanced carbon sequestration
  • Expected enhanced carbon sequestration
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
  • Expected increased conversion of degraded land or soil
  • Increased number of species present
  • Achieved increased number of species present

Economic impacts

  • Unknown

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Cultural heritage and sense of place
  • Protection of natural heritage
  • Expected protection of natural heritage
  • Increased awareness of flora and fauna as culturally and historically meaningful
  • Expected increased awareness of flora and fauna as culturally and historically meaningful
  • 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

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs

Unknown

References

1.
Dublin City Council (n.d.). City Trees. Dublin: Dublin City Council, Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Dublin City (n.d.). Nature Tree Trails St. Anne’s Park. Dublin City, Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Dublin City Council (n.d.). Native Tree Trails. Dublin City Council, Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Dublin City North (2018). Socio-Demographic Profile . Dublin City North, Accessed on August 14, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Dublin City Council (2019). NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS. Dublin City Council, Accessed on August 14, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Dublin City Council (2020). 4 Native Tree Trail, St Anne's Park. Dublin City Council, Accessed on August 14, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Family Friendly HQ (2019). The Kids Will Love Th is Tree Trail Walk, And It's Free. Family Friendly HQ, Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
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.