Learning from trees in our daily lives
IN the Celtic Tree Calendar, Birch is the tree for January. This is very appropriate for the start of the roman new year as the Birch tree in the Ogham Tree Alphabet represents new beginnings and growth.
As Gaeilge, Birch is Beith, as it is in the Ogham Tree Alphabet, where it is also the letter B.
Birch is called the Lady of the Forest, or Finnbhean na Coille, as she lets light into the woodland floor. Birch is a pioneer species, as she is one of the first trees to appear when a wet open meadow is moving towards becoming a woodland once again.
When visiting places near Tralee, like Scotia’s Grave, we see Birch self- seeding freely in wet fields.
Birch loves wet land and it is one of her main natural habitats, (the same goes for Alder and Willow). If your garden is wet, these are the trees to start planting with. As they soak up the water, you can start introducing more species.
Examples of townlands called after the Birch tree are Beagh, Co. Leitrim; Behy, Co. Donegal and Co. Mayo; Beaghmore – Beitheach Mór – Large Birchland, Co. Tyrone; Ballybay-Béal Átha Beith – Mouth of the ford of the Birch, Co. Monaghan; Aghavea – Achaidh Beithe – Field of the Birch, Co. Fermanagh.
www.loganim.ie is a great resource to discover more places close to you that are named after trees.
The Druids and many other cultures have always held trees in great reverence.
Our old Brehon Laws from over 1200 years ago (7 th/8th century) also recognised the spiritual significance and economic importance of trees.
They were protected under a legal system called Bretha Comaithchesa or the Laws of the Neighbourhood, and possibly an earlier legal system called the Tree Judgements.
We had much more direct connection and interaction with trees and plants in so much of our daily lives and it meant that they had specific laws for trees.
If one of the Nobles of the Wood were cut to the base, the owner of the tree was paid with two and a half milking cows. The Noble Trees of the Wood include Oak (Dair), Hazel ( Coll), Holly ( Cuilleann), Yew ( Iúir), Ash (Fuinnseóg), Pine (Péine), Apple (Úll).
If you find the word Bile in a place name, it means Sacred Tree or Sacred Grove of Trees. Examples of this are places called, Bellia, Co. Clare; Bellew, Co. Meath; Moville in Co. Donegal and Movilla, Co. Down both mean Má Bhile – meaning ‘ the plain of the sacred tree’. Places with Bell or Bill in their name also come from this meaning.
To learn more about this interesting topic, read Niall Mac Coitir’s Irish Trees – Myths, Legends & Folklore. Also check out Christine Zucchelli’s Sacred Trees of Ireland.
We are living in challenging times. One of the most useful actions we can take right now is to plant trees everywhere - in our own gardens, land, farmland, communities, school grounds, car parks, campuses, business sites.
Plant whatever space you have: plant small copses, large woodlands, working coppices, wild thickets, hedges, wildlife corridors, forest gardens, orchards.
Or if the trees are replanting themselves naturally, through self- seeding, then that is even better and just let it be – that is rewilding in it’s true meaning of the word.
Gorse and bramble are part of this rewilding succession, so resist the urge to remove these plants. They are an essential part of the woodland ecosystem regeneration. These groves and spaces can be a sanctuary for all of nature.
Native species of trees are particularly suited to our land and climate, but there are many other species that also grow well and add diversity, such as Hornbeam, Lime, Larch, Walnut, Sweet Chestnut, Magnolia, Aronia, Amelanchier, Lilac, Wych Elm, etc.