Had a letter from the Teagasc (forestry) saying that the 4 year inspection of the woodland was now due (when we bought the house, we also bought 0.75 hectares of grant-maintained broadleaf woodland)
This came as a bit of a shock to us - even more so when we read the conditions that would be inspected !!! We met some, but the part about "taking steps to minimise animal damage" - er.... well...... basically the deer have trashed almost all of the ash trees at the centre of the plantation.
Rang a local independent forester who agreed to come and assess the extent of the damage and give us a few pointers. Well a bit of sighing and teeth-sucking later, it became clear that we wouldn't pass the inspection without some considerable input - shaping (hard pruning) what was left of the ash, but replanting over 500 new trees.
We settled on alder trees - still a native species, but one that the deer don't seem to nibble quite as much.
It came as a bit of a blow.... on first hearing the news, planting 500 trees seems a gargantuan task.
We now have to decide if all the work will be worth the grant - or do we opt out of the grant system and maintain the forest as best we can... decisions, decisions
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