The Oak Tree
As The King Of The Forest, The Oak Tree symbolises; Wisdom, Strength & Endurance. Its history is rich and its heritage is unmatched in the Forestry world.
From Inspiring the one & only William Shakespeare to write McBeth in the 16th Century, to being the National Tree of dozens of nations, to even being sacred to the great Zeus, who was the King of the Gods in Greek Mythology. The Oak Tree is a truly supreme example of forestry & the integral role it plays in not only the natural world around us but also in our society.
Hopefully you get a sense of why Oak trees are one of the many trees that call Cloudforests home. We already have over 600 Oak Trees planted on Cloudforest One! They’re not just there for their beauty either, the presence of the tree provides many benefits to the surrounding biosphere and its other inhabitants. They are well known for providing food, protection, both for birds, insects, spiders, and a wide diversity of other species. Even in death, the tree continues to nurture and provide for the environment. They are critically important to the running of our eco-systems. As a result, the conservation of oak forests is vital to the well-being of the earth as a whole. Before we get into more detail about the Oak as a key component in our mission of, Making the Planet Cool, we will first look at the history of the Oak in Ireland, in both nature and society.
Ireland & The Oak Tree
The Oak Tree was one of Irelands first Native Trees, brought here by birds & other animals from Europe and Britain, 12,000 years ago, soon after the Ice Age. There are two native oak trees in Ireland: Sessile Oak and Pedunculate Oak.
The Sessile is the main species to be found in Ireland’s most familiar woodlands like The Glen of the Downs, Co. Wicklow, and Glenveagh, Co. Donegal, etc. The Sessile looks very similar to the Pedunculate Oak, the only distinguishable feature is the Acorn on them, and more specifically the Acorns Stalk. The acorns on the sessile oak don't have any stalks, whereas the acorns of the Pedunculate oak do.
The Oak also has played an impressive role in the heritage of Irish Society, you can find references to the Oak Tree in almost every element of Irish History. One famous example is Kildare, which in Irish translates to ‘Church of the Oak’ (the oak tree is ‘dair’ in Irish). Even going back to Ancient Celtic Ireland, Druids had a sacred ceremony for removing mistletoe from the blessed Oak using a golden sickle. The Celts also saw the towering strength and longevity (Oaks can live for over 300 years) of the oak tree as a symbol of nobility and endurance. In more recent history, the Sessile oak was declared our ‘National Tree' by former Taoiseach Charles Haughey, in the early 1990s.
How Oak Makes The Planet Cooler
It is not only important to Irish culture & heritage to grow Oak Trees, but it is also key to our mission of ‘Making the Planet Cooler’. Oak trees have a long life cycle, typically up to one thousand years or more, barring disease or pest infestation. In this lifetime, they trap carbon, provide oxygen, maintain the water cycle through transpiration, provide necessary food for other life sources and act as a nurturing habitat. In death Oak trees continue to benefit us, the decaying bark provides nourishments for insects and small mammals and birds, the bark also provides shelter for larvae or protection from predators as well as the wood returning nutrients back into the soil providing rich soil for future plant growth. They contribute to the surrounding biosphere in many ways, as a home, food source, and part of the water cycle.
As you can see, there are many different reasons the Oak Tree is an integral part of our Tree planting here at Cloudforests. Not only is it a carbon sequestration powerhouse, but it is also a major part of Irish history & heritage. With the help of Cloudforests, the Oak will be a true staple of the Irish natural world for decades to come.
If you’d like to buy a Native Irish tree planted on our Gift Tree Grove at Cloudforest One, simply follow the link below:
