Buyers invited behind bars for unique native tree nursery open day at Magilligan Prison
- Love Ballymena
- Jul 31
- 2 min read
Environmental leads Aisling and Erin will host an exclusive guided tour of the nursery.
A ground-breaking environmental project inside Magilligan Prison will open its gates to the public for a special Buyers Open Day, offering a rare opportunity to tour Northern Ireland’s only large-scale native tree nursery run by inmates.
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council has announced details of a unique event at HMP Magilligan, where visitors will be invited to explore the Magilligan Tree Nursery – an award-winning initiative transforming lives and landscapes.
The Buyers Open Day, set within the secure grounds of the prison, will showcase the “Justice for Woodlands” project – an innovative environmental scheme launched in 2022 to support reforestation and promote sustainable native tree production across Northern Ireland.
Operated in partnership with Binevenagh Landscape Partnership Scheme, Woodland Trust, Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust, and supported with funding from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the nursery is managed by prisoners who are actively involved in seed collection, tree care, and community planting efforts.
The prisoners are integral to a lot of the seed collection, processing and managing the trees in the nursery, and they also play a part in the planting of the new trees in the local community,
The Magilligan Tree Nursery produces up to 70,000 native trees annually, including Holly, Guilder-rose, Hazel, Crab-apple, Willow, Bird-cherry, and Wild-cherry – all cultivated without reliance on imported European stock.
This makes the site not only a beacon for biodiversity, but also a model for low-carbon, localised woodland regeneration.
Visitors to the Buyers Open Day will join environmental leads Aisling and Erin for an exclusive guided tour of the nursery, followed by a networking lunch at Magilligan Field Centre, featuring native Irish Moiled beef from Moyletra Moileds, with vegetarian options available.
The event is free to attend, and tickets can be secured via Eventbrite:
