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Project seeks to preserve ancient Northern woodland

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

Researchers have already been locating what remains of the vast deciduous woodlands that once covered large swathes of the Six Counties, much of it dating back to the 1600s and before. They look for, among other things, bluebell clumps under tress, indicating long-established woodland.
“There has been no inventory in Northern Ireland to identify which of our woods are ancient,” said Patrick Cregg, the Woodland Trust’s operations director for Northern Ireland. “As a result, this valuable part of our natural heritage is under threat from development pressures and modern farming practices, without adequate legislation to protect them. The creation of an inventory is therefore a vital first step in safeguarding the future of our ancient woods.”
Old maps are also being pulled out of archives to locate the extent of woods hundreds of years ago.
Prehen Wood on the east bank of the River Foyle two miles from Derry City is one example. Because it was part of an estate, maps showing the wood have been found dating back to around 1600, and because of its closeness to Derry, maps of the 1689 siege of Derry also show its extent.
As one researcher put it, Prehen Wood has survived the Ulster Plantation, the siege of Derry, the onslaught of Belfast timber merchants in the 1920s and American forces billeted there during the World War II.
Maps show one constant as time goes by — that woodland is shrinking. The resulting inventory of woodland will help preserve as many as 3,400 separate wooded areas across Northern Ireland.

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