The Woodland Trust’s Mourne Park is awarded £2.5 million windfall from the National Lottery Heritage Fund
Communications officer
Following damage from Storms Darragh and Éowyn, Mourne Park is set to reopen with a significant financial windfall from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Woodland Trust Northern Ireland has been awarded £2.5 million — the largest Heritage Fund grant the Trust has received in the region — to enhance the natural heritage of the woodland, expand public access and strengthen community engagement.
This funding will support a £3.3 million project spanning five years, dedicated to restoring ancient woodland, planting new native trees and developing additional walking trails. Nestled between the Southern Mournes and the Irish Sea, just outside Kilkeel, Mourne Park is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) that will benefit greatly from these improvements.
The key initiatives include:
- creating six kilometres of walking trails leading to Knockchree Hill, offering breathtaking views of the mountains and sea
- restoring the stone bridge, a historic part of the old Newry Road, to provide access across the river
- enhancing the ancient woodland
- establishing new native woodland to protect the edges of the existing ancient woodland and create corridors for wildlife
- providing employment opportunities including roles for a project manager and a conservation officer
- expanding volunteer and community outreach. This will involve creating opportunities for local people to gain hands-on conservation experience (by removing invasive species, creating new habitats and monitoring wildlife)
- establishing Mourne Park as a must-visit destination between Dublin and Belfast, attracting visitors from across Ireland.
The Woodland Trust engaged the public through surveys and in-person sessions, ensuring that community input guided the project. Over 500 survey responses highlighted walking, dog walking, and enjoying the scenery as the most valued activities. With Mourne Park serving as the closest green space for Kilkeel residents, the Woodland Trust is committed to ensuring free and inclusive access for all, and recognises the significant health benefits of time spent in nature.
Mourne Park is home to 73 hectares of ancient woodland, a habitat that has existed since at least the 1600s. Mourne Park is recognised as a significant site for this habitat as it is rare in Northern Ireland, which has just 0.04% ancient woodland cover. This restoration effort is particularly crucial. Over 30 hectares of ancient woodland in the park have already begun the recovery process, with native species rebounding as invasive rhododendrons are cleared.
Dave Scott, estate and project manager, said:
“Restoring Mourne Park’s ancient woodland is essential to preserving hundreds of veteran trees and ensuring their survival for future generations. Thanks to this generous funding, we can continue removing invasive species, regenerating native trees and creating more access to green space for people, including those with limited mobility. We can also create employment opportunities during the project, engage with the local community through our volunteering and community work, and share conservation knowledge through skills training and wildlife monitoring.”
Dr Paul Mullan, Northern Ireland director at the National Lottery Heritage Fund said:
“As one of the UK’s largest investors in natural heritage, we strongly believe that everyone benefits from landscapes rich in nature and beauty.
"At a time when Northern Ireland is ranked as the least wooded area in Europe, with under 9% total tree cover and our most precious places facing immense challenges due to a changing climate, we’re pleased to support the Woodland Trust in protecting and reinvigorating Mourne Park's precious native woodland, which has stood for five centuries.
“Increasing people’s access to nature by providing new, accessible paths is an integral part of this heritage project, meaning more people can connect with nature and this impressive landscape."
Lynsey Nixon, country director for the Woodland Trust Northern Ireland, added:
“Thanks to National Lottery players and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we can bring our vision to life — creating a thriving, sustainable woodland that inspires, educates and benefits the entire community. By working together, we can secure a better future for both people and nature.
“With this funding, Mourne Park is set to become a leading example of conservation and community engagement, preserving one of Northern Ireland’s most precious landscapes for generations to come.”
Notes to editors
For more details on this release, contact Glynis Watt at the Woodland Trust press office on 07785316746 or glyniswatt@woodlandtrust.org.uk.
About the Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust was established in 1972 and is now the UK's largest woodland conservation charity, with more than 500,000 members and supporters. With a vision of a world where woods and trees thrive for people and nature, today the Trust owns and cares for more than 1,000 woodland sites, covering around 33,000 hectares. In Northern Ireland the Woodland Trust cares for around 60 woods. These woods contain a mix of recently planted woodland, mature woodland and ancient woodland.
The Woodland Trust has three key aims:
- protect rare, unique and irreplaceable ancient woodland
- restore damaged ancient woodland, nurturing precious pieces of our natural heritage back to life
- establish new native trees and woods to create healthy, resilient landscapes for people and wildlife.
Access to all Woodland Trust woods is free so everyone can experience the physical and mental benefits of trees.
Follow @TheWoodlandTrustNorthernIreland on Facebook and use #WoodlandTrustNorthernIreland.
About Mourne Park
The Woodland Trust purchased 156 hectares of Mourne Park in 2021 with funding from NIEA, Garfield Weston and gifts in wills. Work began immediately on a series of three trails, covering up to 9km, along swathes of bluebells, past the Whitewater River and through ancient woodland.
A sizeable car park was allocated adjacent to the driving range and repair work to pre-existing bridges and pathways was carried out. Once initial work for visitors was complete, the Trust formally opened the park to the public for the first time in over 500 years in August 2022.
From March 2022 to August 2023 the Woodland Trust carried out in-person sessions and an online consultation to understand how people wanted to connect with Mourne Park. Over 500 responses to the consultation were received, with 80% of respondents living within 10 miles of Mourne Park. Collaboration with local community groups was key to planning activities and accessibility for people. The most popular activities taken from the survey are walking (over 70%), dog walking, enjoying nature and the scenery, running and fishing.
In May 2023, the Woodland Trust purchased an additional 32 hectares of land adjacent to Mourne Park with funding from Ulster Garden Villages Limited, NIEA, gifts kindly left in wills, donors and a public appeal.
Northern Ireland has the lowest tree cover in the UK and Ireland, with under 9% tree cover. Of this 9%, 4% are native trees and 0.04% are ancient woodland. Ancient woodland is classed as woods that have been in existence since the 1600s.
About the National Lottery Heritage Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage, they are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in their strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. The National Lottery Heritage Fund believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past. Over the next 10 years, they aim to invest £3.6 billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities. Visit heritagefund.org.uk.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund.