When the Tree For All Hedge Pack saplings complete their journey of around 700 miles from Grantham to Fair Isle, they will be planted by eight pupils. That’s every child in the school.
With a population of around 70 people, Fair Isle in the Shetland Islands is the remotest inhabited place in Britain. Not many trees can survive there because of the high winds but, because they are low-growing, the plants in the pack will have a very good chance.
The island’s schoolchildren will put them in the ground this autumn and give them plenty of care. Soon they will provide much needed cover for its important bird population.
Gilly Harrison, the primary school’s only teacher and headmistress, said; ‘The children are already enjoying making their own garden in the school playground and I know they’re going to love planting the saplings.’
Gilly is working closely with fellow islanders at the local bird observatory who are very keen to see the trees take root on Fair Isle. As they grow, they will give the birds more places to nest, shelter and feed.
The Woodland Trust provides Tree For All hedge and copse packs free to UK schools. They contain 30 plants and curriculum-linked education resources.
Fair Isle facts
- The primary school’s eight pupils aged between four and 11 are all taught in the same class. There is also one nursery pupil with one teacher.
- Packages, like the hedge pack, are delivered by boat from Shetland just once a week.
- Fair Isle is a birdwatcher’s paradise, ideal for spotting rare species blown there by the strong winds.
- It is also famous for its shipwrecks. When one of the Armada ships, El Gran Grifon, was wrecked there, many of the sailors scrambled ashore and lived on Fair Isle for some time before returning to Spain.
- The Island is just 5km long and 3km wide.
Find out more about hedge and copse packs
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