The start of my tree planting journey!

 This is a pic from about 8 years ago when I first started my tree planting journey. I brought a pear tree down to Jampa Ling Buddhist centre and planted it with the Rinpoche there who is a Tibetan Lama. It was on the summer solstice also we planted this. The tree is still going strong today!

I had setup a fruit tree planting chairty back then and before I launched the charity I wanted to plant a tree with a Buddhist monk for good luck. 

Turns out it was not meant to be though. The charity did my head in.

Dealing with councils is not an easy thing, meetings to talk about having meetings and then the street collections we did, I didnt like any of it.

With my colourful background it didnt look good. One guy that knows me said "Aye - Al Capone had charities"!

My charity was not a front though to take the look off some underworld business I had. Although it may have looked that way as back then my delboy dad was still alive and I was surrounded by gangsters daily.

But honestly I was genuine in my intentions of trying to help nature and the community back then.

Was the hardest thing in the world though getting asked all the time what are you up too? Whats your agenda here?

So many things put me off doing it as a charity. I then gave up and went phantom!

I wasn't prepared anyway to wait around wagging my tail with my tongue hanging out saying please please let me plant trees to councils and government bodies!

No one owns these green spaces in our estates. People have jobs to look after them, but when they leave that job or retire they'll think nothing more of it. Politicians and councillors are voted in and say what goes in these areas but then they come and go and they'll not be loosing any sleep over what goes on in these green spaces either.

Lets face it guys, the unused green spaces in and around our housing estates belong to us. We have more of a claim on them than anyone else. We are paying the rates and council tax for the areas. The land belongs to us.

Its something we need to all look into more is common land, its everywhere. People need to know that if land is sitting doing nothing for years on end it can be claimed for the greater good of the community.

I've been challenged many times with council workers and other people getting all constipated with me planting trees and I've said to them. Do you really honestly care what goes on here? Because they dont. No one really does. Unless it's land that someone has bought with their own hard work I understand someone getting worked up then. But these green spaces everywhere should be planted up with food for the community.

"Better to ask for forgiveness than permission"...

Going asking permission for me in the past got my mind caught up in a whole lot of BS that was taking my energy of the main thing - Planting fruit trees.

And remember guys, under Brehon Law, the true Law of the Emerald Isle. The removal of a community fruit tree that feeds people carries a penalty of two and half milk cows. This law still stands! 

#phantomplanter