North Leamington School pupils and staff plant hundreds of trees on site to help towards a greener future

Pupils and staff at North Leamington School (NLS) have taken part in tree planting event to help towards a greener future for all.

The Woodland Trust donated the trees to the school, which had applied for a wild harvest and a wildlife pack consisting of hazel,blackthorn, crab apple, dog rose, rowan, hawthorn, silver birch and common oak trees having heard about the scheme on the radio.

Ellen Dainty, The NLS theatre manager, and Heather Clifford, a geography and psychology teacher, managed the project along with other staff volunteers.

Ellen said: “This has been an amazing opportunity for the school and our keen Year 7 eco-leaders were thrilled to take part.

"It has been so lovely to do something positive after an unusual and difficult past 12 months.

"Social distancing was made easy as we had arranged for the trees to be over two metres apart.

"We even managed to get some litter picking done around the site.

“This project was a brilliant learning opportunity for the students whilst also being a fun socially distanced activity.

"It’s great to see our pupils being so socially aware and getting themselves involved in environmental issues.

"One of our Year 7s said ‘the trees will grow as we grow’.

"It will be fantastic for the children to see the woodland that they have helped to create develop throughout their time at school and beyond.

"A huge thank you from NLS to the Woodland Trust.”"

The Woodland Trust’s schools and community engagement manager Karen Letten said: “Trees create inspiring learning spaces - natural, sustainable, and dynamic outdoor classrooms where students can mix mud with maths and spades with science, while connecting with nature and having fun.

"It’s these lessons that the children will remember well into adulthood.”

"Woodland Trust commissioned research shows that children who plant trees felt that they were ‘doing their bit’ to help the environment and remember it as a significant experience.

"Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) is supporting the trust to deliver 400,000 trees for state-funded primary schools in England over four years.

"Over the same period , Sainsbury’s, IKEA FAMILY, players of People’s Postcode Lottery and Yorkshire Tea are funding 1.8 million trees free to schools and education institutions in the UK as part of their ongoing partnerships with the Woodland Trust. Schools can apply by visiting the Woodland Trust website or searching for ‘school tree packs’ online.

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/freetrees