DAERA Minister Andrew Muir has visited a newly planted native woodland site in County Tyrone, where almost 30,000 trees now stand as part of efforts to restore Northern Ireland’s vanishing Celtic rainforest habitat. The 16-hectare Lenamore Wood project, backed by over £100,000 in government funding, represents a rare expansion of the ancient Atlantic oakwood ecosystem that now covers less than one per cent of the region’s land area.
The Minister attended a public open day at the site on Saturday, where visitors received guided tours of the new woodland and participated in commemorative tree planting. The project lies adjacent to existing ancient woodland, creating a protective buffer for a habitat that supports threatened species including the red squirrel, Irish stoat, and wood warbler, alongside rare mosses, ferns, and fungi.
Minister Hails Woodland Expansion
Speaking at Lenamore Wood, Minister Muir emphasised the project’s value for both ecological restoration and public wellbeing. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) contributed the six-figure sum through the Forest Expansion Scheme, one of several grant mechanisms intended to reverse Northern Ireland’s status as the least wooded region in the United Kingdom.
“I am delighted to be here as Ulster Wildlife celebrates the completion of tree planting at this important woodland site at Lenamore. This project is a powerful example of the importance of increasing woodland cover to enhance biodiversity and provide greater opportunities for people to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of woodlands.
“I am particularly pleased that my Department has been able to support this project with over £100,000 through the Forest Expansion Scheme. I would strongly encourage landowners to consider options to create new woodland, supported through the Forest Expansion Scheme or the Small Woodland Grant Scheme.”
— Andrew Muir MLA, Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
The Lenamore Wood initiative is being delivered by Ulster Wildlife in partnership with Aviva and The Wildlife Trusts, forming part of a long-term effort to restore temperate rainforest in the Sperrin Mountains foothills. While the newly planted area is not yet fully open to the public, plans are in place to open access once the site is established.
Grant Schemes: Open for Business or Closed?
Despite the Minister’s encouragement, questions remain about the immediate availability of the grant schemes he referenced. According to DAERA’s own website, both the Forest Expansion Scheme (for woodlands of 3 hectares and larger) and the Small Woodland Grant Scheme (for native plantings of 0.2 hectares and above) are currently listed as closed for applications. The Small Woodland Grant Scheme, which offers up to £6,425 per hectare for establishment costs plus annual premia over ten years, closed its most recent window on 7 January 2026.
This creates uncertainty for landowners inspired by the Lenamore project. While the Minister’s statement suggests future rounds will open, no dates have been confirmed for the 2026/27 planting season. The Department has not clarified whether the £100,000 contribution to Lenamore Wood represents a final allocation from the previous funding round or signals imminent reopening of the schemes.
Missing the Wood for the Trees?
The celebration at Lenamore Wood comes against a backdrop of missed targets and mounting concern from environmental groups. According to Forest Research’s Forestry Statistics 2025, Northern Ireland’s woodland cover stands at just 9 per cent—less than a quarter of the EU average of 38 per cent and well below Scotland’s 19 per cent. DAERA’s “Forests for Our Future” programme aims to create 9,000 hectares of new woodland by 2030, yet only around 2,200 hectares had been planted by the end of 2025, leaving roughly 6,800 hectares to be established in the remaining four-and-a-bit years.
The Woodland Trust’s 2025 State of the UK’s Woods and Trees report warned that current progress is “far too slow” to support Northern Ireland’s legally binding net zero commitments. The Institute of Chartered Foresters, in its response to the draft Northern Ireland Climate Action Plan, similarly described the 9,000-hectare target as representing “a very steep ramping up of the ambition,” with Confor and the Woodland Trust both calling for a new forestry strategy and multi-year funding commitments to deliver it.
Lenamore Wood’s 16 hectares, while valuable for biodiversity, represent less than 0.25 per cent of the remaining target. The project’s focus on native species also contrasts with the make-up of Northern Ireland’s existing forest estate, which has historically been dominated by non-native conifer plantations, particularly Sitka spruce.
Critical Questions for Stakeholders
- When will the Forest Expansion Scheme and Small Woodland Grant Scheme reopen for the 2026/27 season, and will funding rates increase to reflect inflationary pressures on fencing and sapling costs?
- Given that around 6,800 hectares of the 9,000-hectare target remain to be planted, what specific mechanisms will DAERA implement to roughly quintuple recent annual creation rates?
- Will the Department prioritise native woodland restoration over commercial conifer planting to meet biodiversity goals, and how will this balance be reflected in future grant allocations?
- How will DAERA ensure small farmers and community groups can access these schemes on equal terms with larger commercial landowners, particularly given the upfront costs required before grant reimbursement?
- What long-term monitoring protocols will ensure the survival of the 30,000 trees at Lenamore Wood, given the threats from ash dieback, deer grazing, and climate volatility?
The Lenamore Wood project demonstrates what collaborative conservation can achieve, but it also highlights the scale of the challenge ahead. With the Celtic rainforest teetering on the edge of extinction in Northern Ireland, the success of future grant rounds—and the willingness of landowners to navigate the application process—will determine whether this 16-hectare victory becomes the start of a woodland renaissance or an isolated green island in a sea of agricultural intensification.
Landowners interested in future grant opportunities can monitor the DAERA forestry grants page or contact Forest Service directly at grants.forestservice@daera-ni.gov.uk.