The citizens of Ireland can expect an early Christmas present in the next few weeks when millennium tree certificates are issued to every household in the State.
These will advise each of 1.2 million households of the location of a tree planted in its name as part of the "people's millennium forests" project.
Citizens will be encouraged to visit their trees and watch them grow. They will not have legal ownership, however. So, while tree-hugging may be possible, logging will not.
About 300,000 of the trees have yet to be planted. This is because only seeds from native Irish species such as oak, ash, birch, alder and rowan are being used, and last year's harvest was poor. Some 900,000 seedlings are growing, however, and the remainder will be planted from this year's harvest, a project spokeswoman said.
The 14 forests involved have been laid out in grids, so the location of all trees, planted or planned, is known. The organisers stress that you don't have to have a house to be a household. Certificates will be issued to members of the Travelling community through their representative organisations, and the homeless will likewise be included. Although the 14 forests are distributed throughout the State, households will not be guaranteed a tree in the nearest location. However, the spokeswoman said the forests would be in scenic areas "and they'll all be nice places to visit".
The scheme is one of the three "flagship" millennium projects, along with the Last Light ceremony and the children's hour fund-raising initiative. Details will be announced in Dublin on Monday by the Taoiseach and the chairman of the National Millennium Committee, Mr Seamus Brennan.
Once almost covered in woodland, Ireland is now one of the least forested countries in Europe. The millennium project is aimed partly at restoring very old forests with native trees.
