When babies are born there's always the customary path beaten to the bedside, with well-wishers bearing flowers for the mother.
In Clonmel they do things a bit differently. For the last decade babies born at the town's St Joseph's Hospital have been welcomed into the world with a sapling tree, presented by the local Earthwatch group.
Mr Robert Walsh is one of the founder-members of the Clonmel branch of the group. He is the campaign co-ordinator of this project, which they have called "New Baby, New Tree, No Greenhouse Effect", and which is now almost a decade old.
"When a mum has a baby, she's very switched on to protecting her baby", Mr Walsh says. "It seems like an ideal opportunity to try and encourage her to think about protecting the baby's wider environment, too. We have a communications system going with the hospital. There's a team of four of us who ring them every couple of days to ask about new babies. Obviously there is an established level of trust between ourselves and the hospital."
One of the Earthwatch team goes into the ward to deliver the tree and a certificate for the baby. The certificate welcomes the baby and says: "You are helping the environment by accepting this tree. It will help stop the greenhouse effect."
"Babies get this cert even before they get their birth cert. The presentation only takes a couple of minutes, so we're not intruding on anyone, and the mothers are always delighted to accept the tree on behalf of their new baby," Mr Walsh says.
Earthwatch hopes other people who are visiting the hospital might be inspired to plant trees for other children in the family.
Every year Coillte gives Earthwatch, free of charge, 300 broad-leaved trees for this project.
"Every year it's a different tree. This year it's wild cherry. We've had rowan and whitebeam in the past," Mr Walsh says.
The project starts in late November each year, the planting season, and usually runs for three months. The trees are taken home and usually planted in the family garden within the recommended 24 hours. "We think of it like a buddy system. Baby and tree are growing up together. I would know a lot of these kids, and when I meet them in the supermarket or around town, I ask them how their tree is. It's all about trying to educate the future generation."
As far as Mr Walsh is aware, this project is unique in the State. "It's such a simple way for people to do a little bit to protect the environment," he says. "There's always a little bit more that can be done by small local groups like ours, working on a community basis."