We are delighted to invite you to the Irish Tree Explorers Network (ITEN) free end-of-project symposium which will be held at the Fota Education, Conservation and Research Centre, County Cork on March 19th 2025 from 10am-4pm. Focusing on the theme, 'From Root to Branch: Rethinking Our Relationship With Trees', the symposium will feature talks by speakers from a range of different disciplines. 

On Friday, 20th September, at 5:30 PM, we launched our annual Culture Night event, which was a fantastic success, attracting a diverse audience of all ages. 

On Saturday, September 14th, the Biodiversity Action Conference was held at the Clayton Hotel, hosted by Cork City Council. 

The conference featured a range of topics, from optimising seed banking to mitigating plant diseases in cereal grains, highlighting the importance of plants in tackling environmental issues. One researcher presented an exciting solution to the growing issue of water quality in Ireland - the use of a particular oat species (Azola) plant for cleaning wastewater, potentially improving water quality and ensuring a healthier environment.

The ITEN stand welcomed a significant number of distinguished visitors over the weekend, including the Lord Mayor and Tánaiste Micheál Martin. It was a pleasure to observe them actively engage with the stand, examine the pine tree specimen under the microscope, and cast their votes for their preferred tree species. The overwhelming success of this event makes it abundantly clear that there is a strong and growing appetite within the Cork community for expanding knowledge and appreciation of trees. The level of engagement and the overwhelmingly enthusiastic responses to our surveys clearly demonstrate the public's keen interest in learning more about trees.

This year's Bord Bia Bloom festival aimed to inspire its 100,000 + visitors to take positive actions towards a healthier, more environmentally conscious world. With this theme and the perfect sunny weather, the Irish Tree Explorers Network (ITEN) picked the ideal stage to kick-start their new project

Based in Bloom's conservation area, the ITEN marquee was full of engaging activities and materials, from a microscope looking at plant tissue cells to carnivorous plants, gigantic tree seed pods and tree-themed postcards. Over the five jam-packed days, visitors were asked to vote for their favourite forest/woodland/park. The votes were counted and verified, with 365 votes cast.

National Tree Week in Ireland was an exciting annual event, with the recent celebrations taking place from March 3rd to March 10th, 2024. This captivating week-long celebration, is organised by the Tree Council of Ireland in partnership with Coillte, aimed to raise awareness about the importance of trees and promote tree planting initiatives across the country.

Japan's Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Norio Maruyama visited UCC recently to mark an agreement between Japan's National Diet Library and UCC. While at UCC, the Ambassador had the opportunity to enjoy the international-accredited UCC Arboretum.

Celebrate Culture Night 2023 with the Irish Tree Explorers Network (ITEN) team! Join us for a tour of the University College Cork Arboretum where we will explore the cultural significance of trees.

When- 17:00- 18:00, 22nd of September 2023

Where- Meet at the University College Cork Western Road main entrance gate.

Booking required

For more Culture Night events at UCC click here 

On April 27th, 2023, an event at University College Cork (UCC) brought together experts, practitioners, policymakers, and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to discuss a critical topic: "Delivering Sustainable Urban Forests." This one-day symposium, organised by the UCC Arboretum group, aimed to shed light on the essential role of urban trees in creating vibrant, healthy, and sustainable cities and towns. The discussions held during the symposium underscored the critical importance of urban forests in promoting biodiversity, addressing climate challenges, enhancing culture, supporting human health and well-being, and contributing to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Irish Tree Explorers Network (ITEN) is a collaboration between the School of BEES (Dr Eoin Lettice and Dr Barbara Doyle Prestwich) and the School of English and Digital Humanities (Prof. Claire Connolly). ITEN builds on the success of the Tree Explorers projects that have been based in the globally accredited UCC Arboretum since 2021. ITEN allows the project team to take what's been learned in the projects based in Cork and bring that to a national audience through partnerships with Coillte, the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the Tree Council of Ireland

UCC Arboretum celebrates National Tree Day with school visit.

The role and cultural significance of urban trees - take a tour of this Cork City tree collection

Youghal students take a tour of the UCC trees with the Tree Explorers Team.

More school children and members of the public will get to learn about the science of the natural world following the UCC 'Tree Explorers' project receiving new funding today. Tree Explorers has secured further funding for this year through the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Discover Programme.

Fascination of Plants Day is back and is happening this month  - 18th May !

The report is a collaboration between the local community and BEES researchers and students.

A cavy and opossum, unusual animals collected by Charles Darwin on his formative voyage aboard the HMS Beagle, are some of the items included in the University College Cork Natural Collections website

• New self-guided tour of UCC Arboretum is free to the public.
• Audio guide via app is in development.
• Free brochure developed following Science Foundation Ireland funding.

The Cork Literary & Scientific Society presents an online talk 

Over a decade ago UCC students first embarked on the Green Campus programme and now UCC has ranked as one of the most sustainable universities in the world.

We are delighted to be partnering with Green Legacy Hiroshima to germinate seeds in Ireland from the historic 'Survivor Trees' of Hiroshima. We'll be growing Ginkgo and Oriental Plane trees here at UCC.

One of our team is part of the UCC delegation at COP26 this week. Fitting that it is also Science Week here. One of our projects here at UCC Arboretum is the Tree Explorers Project which is funded by SFI (Science Foundation Ireland). Our Arboretum is a powerful educational tool and what seems to be clear from COP26 is that nature based solutions are the way forward. Click on the link below to find out the full story.

Three schools from Cork City visited the UCC Arboretum this June as part of the new Science Foundation Ireland funded Tree Explorers Project.