Images via Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust

The North Coast’s Magilligan area isn’t just the site of a major local prison, it’s also home to an unlikely yet innovative and important tree nursery project.

Tree nursery co-ordinator Aisling Gribbin (right) and tree nursery assistant Erin Boyle

Managed by Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust (CCGHT), Magilligan tree nursery is delivered in partnership with The Northern Ireland Prison Service and can produce up to 70,000 native UK and Irish trees every year, meaning enough stock and range to satisfy both large orders and individual household buyers.

The work addresses a significant shortage of locally sourced trees for planting in Northern Ireland. Many trees currently having to be imported from Europe means an increase in likelihood of bringing disease into the local population.

Having a fully operational tree nursery within the grounds of the prison ensures a ‘bio secure’  stock of local trees as well as the ability to grow species currently in short supply including Holly, Guelder Rose and Spindle, as well as the commonly seen species Hazel, Crab Apple, Willow, Rowan, Birch, Alder, Scots Pine and Wild Cherry.

With ambitions to keep growing to meet the demands of native tree planting projects across Northern Ireland, the project sees CCGHT staff members work directly with a team of prison inmates who assist in the day-to-day tree nursery operations. In this way, the inmates are integral to the success of the nursery to date.