Over 30,000 acorns were gathered by National Park and Wildlife Service outdoor staff from the ancient Derrycunnihy native oak woodlands and Muckross Gardens, Killarney National Park.

POTTING: James Doherty with his team painstakingly potted or sewed 31375 acorns to be exact mainly Sessile Oak which are native to Ireland. The mammoth task will ensure that our native woodlands will continue for generations and centuries to come. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

FROM TINY ACORNS: Over 30000 acorns were gathered by National Park and Wildlife Service Outdoor Staff from the ancient Derrycunnihy native Oak woodlands and Muckross Gardens Killarney National Park. The work carried out was supervised by Horticulturalist Gerry Murphy (right) and gardener Stephen Moore (1st left). Also pictured were: James Doherty (2nd left) David Fitzgerald Sjoerd Van Wierst Cathal Sexton Brendan Lynch and Luke O'Sullivan. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

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HELPING: Sjoerd Van Wierst Brendan Lynch and Luke O'Sullivan helping to pot the acorns Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

PAINSTAKING WORK: The NPWS outdoor staff in this photo include: James Doherty (left) David Fitzgerald and Sjoerd Van Wierst painstakingly potting some of the 31375 acorns. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

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The oak woodlands form the most extensive and oldest areas of native woodlands in Ireland and Northern Europe. It has the largest yew woodland, which occurs along the Muckross Peninsula.

The work carried out was supervised by horticulturalist Gerry Murphy and gardener Stephen Moore.

The outdoor staff painstakingly potted, or sewed, 31,375 acorns to be exact, mainly Sessile Oak, which is native to Ireland. The mammoth task will ensure that our native woodlands will continue for generations and centuries to come.

“What we have here is the forest of the future, germination will take place in early spring, and come summer time, the pots will be on benches outdoors for at least two more seasons before being planted out,” Stephen Moore, head gardener, said.

The precious acorns were all collected from registered collection areas of local provenance within Killarney National Park. Other plant species for future gathering will include, Yew, Birch, Holly and Alder.

The outdoor staff working in the National Park on site polytunnel included James Doherty, David Fitzgerald, Sjoerd van Wierst, Luke O’Sullivan, Brendan Lynch and Cathal Sexton. They also seeded English Oak, and Arbutus trees on Muckross Peninsula, one of the few places it grows in Europe. Horticulturist Gerry Murphy explained that they’re encouraging the planting of more native trees in Killarney National Park.

"Going back to the original owners of Muckross Estate, the Herberts of Muckross, they had their own extensive nursery for planting native trees," he said.

"Today the 300-year-old champion oak tree in the landscaped garden is still growing strong. Sometimes nature needs our help from time to time.”

Killarney National Park has over 610 hectares of the most important ancient native oak woodland in Ireland. Oak can live for over 500 years and one of the biggest oaks in Killarney National Park is the Royal Oak on the shores of Lough Leane. The yew woodland on the Muckross Peninsula is one of the three largest natural yew woods in Europe. The centrepiece iconic yew in Muckross Abbey is believed to be over 550-years-old.