Lakeland Dairies is to plant 5,000 native trees at two of its sites.

The tree planting initiative is part of the commitment made by Lakeland Dairies in its strategy 'pathway to a better future', which launched in 2023.

The initiative saw one hectare of trees planted at Lakeland Dairies Bailieboro as part of the Native Tree Area (NTA) Scheme, while another hectare of trees was planted at Lakeland Dairies Killeshandra as part of the Native Woodland Establishment (NWE) Scheme.

Both schemes are part of the National Forestry Programme 2023-2027.

Small scale

Lakeland Dairies has partnered with Western Forestry Co to carry out the planting and to promote the benefits of the NTA for farmers, for land use and biodiversity and provide a demonstration to farmers about the benefit of small-scale native tree planting.

Lakeland Dairies chair Niall Matthews said that this programme will make a “meaningful contribution to improving water quality and biodiversity, while helping to meet our ambitious national afforestation targets”.

Western Forestry Co-op CEO Martina Conway stated that it is “delighted to be partnering with Lakeland Dairies in their journey to sustainability through planting native woodlands” for future farm families and staff.

The schemes offer grants to support tree planting projects across Ireland.