Belfast City Council launched its One Million Trees initiative in 2020, aiming to work with the local community to plant one million native trees throughout Belfast.
Cllr Maghie said: “During this week’s People and Communities Committee meeting, I highlighted my concerns that we are five years into a 15-year One Million Trees project, yet we are around 220,000 trees behind where we should be if we’re aiming for a million by 2035.
“Currently, Northern Ireland ranks among the worst regions in the world for biodiversity loss and is also the least wooded area in Europe. The One Million Trees project is a step towards rebuilding our woodland areas, which will also help safeguard our ecosystem, support wildlife, and enhance biodiversity.
“Alliance has long been an advocate for increased action to protect our environment. While it’s disappointing that we have reached this position, we want to see this project reinvigorated and back on track to reach its intended goal of one million trees by 2035.
“There is a lot of work to do in the background, including selecting the types of trees, determining where to plant them, and deciding how many to plant. However, we now have the Belfast Tree Strategy, introduced in 2023, which will help us plan a path forward and rebuild momentum for this initiative.
“My Alliance colleagues at Belfast City Council and I look forward to working together to ensure this project will not only protect our environment and wildlife, and combat climate change, but also enhance the beauty of our city and improve the health of residents.”
Cllr Maghie said: “During this week’s People and Communities Committee meeting, I highlighted my concerns that we are five years into a 15-year One Million Trees project, yet we are around 220,000 trees behind where we should be if we’re aiming for a million by 2035.
“Currently, Northern Ireland ranks among the worst regions in the world for biodiversity loss and is also the least wooded area in Europe. The One Million Trees project is a step towards rebuilding our woodland areas, which will also help safeguard our ecosystem, support wildlife, and enhance biodiversity.
“Alliance has long been an advocate for increased action to protect our environment. While it’s disappointing that we have reached this position, we want to see this project reinvigorated and back on track to reach its intended goal of one million trees by 2035.
“There is a lot of work to do in the background, including selecting the types of trees, determining where to plant them, and deciding how many to plant. However, we now have the Belfast Tree Strategy, introduced in 2023, which will help us plan a path forward and rebuild momentum for this initiative.
“My Alliance colleagues at Belfast City Council and I look forward to working together to ensure this project will not only protect our environment and wildlife, and combat climate change, but also enhance the beauty of our city and improve the health of residents.”