Irish tree border: School planting scheme for native UK species 'not available in NI' due to Protocol

It contradicts a claim by the government that British trees would “move again easily” under the Windsor Framework.

The charity’s plans to distribute trees for Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee were disrupted back in 2021, also because of the sea border – something Sir Jeffrey Donaldson described at the time as “offensive madness”.

Three years later, native British and Irish species such as beech, apple, cherry, hawthorn and blackthorn are still on an EU ‘high risk’ list and are either banned outright or regulated when entering its single market – including Northern Ireland – from Great Britain.

All of these species form part of packs given away free under the ‘Free Trees for Schools and Communities’ scheme – run by the Woodland Trust – with the aim of giving “everybody in the UK has the chance to plant a tree”.

The conservation charity is giving away hundreds of thousands of trees for planting by school children and community groups, and aims to get millions more trees in the ground to help the UK reach its net zero targets.

The Trust is currently taking orders for saplings to be delivered for planting in November 2024 – but it won’t be available for schools and community groups in Northern Ireland.

Its website states: “All our trees are UK and Ireland Sourced-and-Grown (UKISG). Responsible tree procurement is central to developing resilient woodlands. We currently ship to England, Scotland, Wales and all UK islands apart from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

“Unfortunately, recent changes to regulations mean we are currently unable to ship our trees to Northern Ireland.

“We are consulting with statutory bodies to try and resolve this issue and we will provide updates in due course. Please accept our apologies in the meantime.”

In 2021 the DUP leader said: “It is madness that we cannot plant UK trees from the mainland in our own country to celebrate Her Majesty's platinum jubilee.

"It is offensive that British soil, seeds, plants and trees cannot be transported from one part of the UK to another."

When the Windsor Framework was announced, the government claimed: “Products that were banned - such as seed potatoes, sausages, and British trees - will move again easily”.

However, EU animal and plant health rules still apply in NI – and the EU has a list of ‘high risk’ plants which are prohibited from entering Northern Ireland, pending a risk assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Announcing the Windsor Framework – the government claimed it had “ended the ban on so-called ‘high risk’ trees and shrubs”. As with much of the deal – the devil was in the detail.

Some species, such as oak, have been approved – but to be allowed into Northern Ireland they need to be authorised for the EU more generally. That is because Northern Ireland has full unfettered access to the EU single market and must therefore follow its rules. That process is dictated by the risk to the EU as a whole from certain species.

The UK government has been seeking a lifting of bans on particular species for months, something the DUP has been pushing for, but the decision rests with Europe.

TUV councillor Timothy Gaston said: “news that there is a ‘tree border’ dividing the UK illustrates the absurdity of claims that the Protocol is no longer an issue.

“The Woodland Trust scheme should see children across the UK plant trees which are native to the British Isles. However, trees which have travelled to and fro across the Irish Sea for centuries are now banned from entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

He added: “The Government claimed that the Windsor Framework removed such absurd bans. Patently, however, this is not the case.

"What now of those claims by the DUP leadership that the Sea Border was gone?”

The Woodland Trust declined to give any further comment.

The DUP and the Department of Agriculture were also contacted for comment.