Belfast Hills Partnership

20/06/2026

Join us for our 30x30 Priority Habitat Walk at Old Colin Wood.

Come along this Wednesday as we explore the priority habitats at Old Colin Wood including woodland, grassland and wetland as well as the species they support.

We’ll look at how these habitats contribute to local biodiversity and how they can support progress towards 30x30 targets.

Meeting point: Old Colin Wood entrance at Brianswell Road
Time: 11:30am – 1:00pm
Date: Wednesday 24th June 2026

To RSVP please email: [email protected]

19/06/2026

Happy Friday! It's time for another volunteer update!

Recently our small tree nursery at Aughrim, got a bit of a face lift. New sleepers and gates were installed last month which has really given the nursery a new lease of life. So, on Monday the volunteers were at Aughrim helping to clear weeds from the tree beds. This will ensure the trees have access to plenty of nutrients and light to grow.

Yesterday, the volunteers met up at Ballysillan Park to tackle some of the Himalayan Balsam which is prevalent in certain areas throughout the park. They pulled and stacked piles of Balsam which is very invasive if allowed to spread without intervention.

Great work as usual this week to everyone that came out! We couldn't do it without you guys! 👏

Our Volunteering Programme is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund Northern Ireland and the Carrier Bag Levy by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

18/06/2026

Growing Innovation Network NI are welcoming applications to their Land Stewardship Programme for 2026. This is a fully funded 8 week programme for livestock farmers who want practical ideas for how they manage their farm. Working directly with your own farm maps, you will receive personalised guidance and develop a bespoke plan of action to improve your land's long-term productivity and resilience.

The course starts on Monday 6th July at 6.30pm and is based in Garvagh.

Applications close on Friday 26th June and can be accessed by visiting www.LandStewardship.co.uk

Farming is changing. What’s your plan?

The GrowIN Land Stewardship Programme is a fully funded programme for livestock farmers who want practical ideas for the future of their farm.

Designed to give farmers the knowledge, tools and confidence to improve how they manage their land for the long term.
The course runs over eight evening sessions and will be based in Garvagh.

You’ll work directly with your own farm maps, develop a bespoke plan of action, and leave with a folder packed with worksheets, guides, templates.
PLUS a series of one-to-one mentoring calls to support implementation, maintain momentum and provide personalised guidance.

Application deadline: Fri 26th June
Course starts: Mon 6th July - 6.30pm - for 8wks

If you have been curious about making changes on your farm but didn’t know where to start - go apply noW!

www.LandStewardship.co.uk

Please share this opportunity far and wide to help us reach the farmers who will most benefit from this course.

17/06/2026

Free Trees Please! 🌳 We’re working with Belfast City Council to engage people across the city with the Belfast Tree Strategy. Over the past few years, we’ve supported over 50 schools, community groups and green spaces with planting trees and looking after their woodlands. We’re on the lookout for new schools and groups to work with over this coming winter planting season. If you are part of a community group, sports club, school, or other group, based within the Belfast city council area and you have space to plant some trees or hedging, please do get in touch if you are interested!

We can come visit your site to draw up a planting plan and species mix that suits the aims of your project. Trees can provide so many benefits to wildlife, our environment and us! Planting will take place during the winter (Jan-Mar) and we can run a planting session with your group on site, with all the guidance and equipment you'll need.

Please note, there is a limited number of projects we can support each year so sites will be chosen based on a number of factors including space, tree numbers, benefits to the local community, benefits to biodiversity, equal distribution across the city, tree supply etc. We will do our best to support as many projects as possible, however we may have to push some back until next year depending on demand.

Contact us on [email protected] with some information about your group/site and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

14/06/2026

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to the launch of our River Restoration Project at Ionad Teaghlaigh Ghleann Darach last month. We had a fabulous day celebrating the Crumlin River and engaging with the local community. Click through the photos to see some of the wishes people made for the future of the Crumlin River.

If you would like to find out more about the project and how you can get involved please visit our website:
https://belfasthills.org/projects/crumlinriverrestorationproject/

13/06/2026

Recently we had Clare from Feasting on the Weeds run another foraging workshop for us, this time in Victoria Park.

This was run as part of our programming with Belfast City Council on the Belfast Tree Strategy.

As part of the Tree Strategy we have been working on raising awareness of the importance of maintaining and protecting our existing woodlands and wooded areas. Together with Feasting on the Weeds we brought a small group of people on a leisurely stroll through Victoria Park to learn about the various plants, fruit and berries that can be safely and responsibly foraged there.

Patrons were then treated to some delicious foraged snacks and refreshments at the end leaving everyone with plenty of food for thought as well as a full belly.
A big thanks to Clare for her effort and expertise and to everyone for joining us!

12/06/2026

On Tuesday we welcomed a team from Citi Bank Belfast to the woodland in Glencairn Park to help remove some invasive non native snowberry from the woodland.

This non-native shrub is shade resistant and can form dense, suffocating thickets that block out sunlight, crowding out beloved native plants like bluebells and stopping new tree seedlings from growing. By taking over the forest floor, it destroys vital habitats and food sources for local wildlife, turning diverse ecosystems into single-species dead zones.

A big thanks to the team from Citi Bank, great work!

11/06/2026

We want your feedback!

As part of the Journey to 30x30 project, we’re inviting local residents and community members to share their knowledge, experiences and ideas to help shape long-term habitat and species management plans across our community sites. If you missed any of our in-person workshops you can now have your say online.

Consultation surveys are now open on our website for the following sites:

- The Sovereign Complex (Council managed area of Carnmoney Hill)

- Glencairn Park

- Whiterock Triangle / Mountain Loney

- Ligoniel Dams

- Colin Allotments

- Old Colin Wood

Visit our website https://belfasthills.org/projects/journey-to-30x30/community-sites/ to find the survey links & take part. Your feedback will be combined with ecological surveys to help guide practical conservation work and support nature recovery across these important local spaces.

For more information, send us a message, email [email protected] or call 028 9060 3466.

10/06/2026

Wildfires continue to be an annual problem in the Belfast Hills. Wildfires are started by people either accidentally through neglect or deliberately with malicious intent. disposable BBQ’s, cigarette butts & discarded bottles are often the cause of wildfires. Climate change is only exacerbating the problem, as there are longer periods of hotter, drier weather. This causes vegetation to dry out for longer, increasing the season we’re prone to fires.

So, what do Belfast Hills Partnership do about it?
Helping to educate and inform local communities about wildfires helps to reduce the impact. Back in 2017 we made a short film with young people from Coláiste Feirste and Malone Integrated College highlighting the dangers of wildfires which you can watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WXZQ1-rHbI

Some residential areas of Belfast are within a couple of hundred metres from previous wildfires, and have a heightened potential for damage to their home. It is the embers, not the fire front itself, that threatens homes with some embers known to travel an average distance of 2 kilometres before falling. We’ve teamed up with Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service & Police Service of Northern Ireland to encourage local communities to work together to reduce their risk from wildfires. Based on best practise from other regions, the Firewise initiative provides helpful suggestions on easy, practical steps for homeowners living in affected or at-risk areas to help them protect their properties and reduce their risk from wildfires.

It is important to assess the damage after a wildfire and to monitor how the area recovers. Using GIs, we map the perimeter of burnt areas and assess the damage and severity of a fire.

If you are concerned about wildfires affecting your property please read our Firewise leaflet:
https://belfasthills.org/projects/firewise/

09/06/2026

Many thanks to everyone who joined our Wonderful Woodland Wander in May. We headed out to The Woodland Trust Northern Ireland managed site, Carnmoney Hill, to take in the spring time wonders of the woodland and learn about seasonal plants and their associated folklore. We were so lucky to have got such good weather and hope everyone enjoyed it.