Inner-city youngsters plug into planting power
Pupils from an inner-city Birmingham primary school took part in a pioneering series of tree-planting sessions in the National Forest.
The initiative is part of the Woodland Trust’s Tree For All campaign, which will see one million schoolchildren plant more than 12 million trees within a five-year period.
And more than 50 students and staff from Stechford Primary School, Stechford, Birmingham, took part in the project with tree-planting sessions at Conkers, an interactive nature-themed visitor centre at the heart of the National Forest, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, on March 6.
Woodland Trust campaign development officer Jo Burris, paid tribute to all who had signed up to Tree For All.
She said: “We are grateful for everyone who has taken part. Tree For All relies on the help of dozens of partners, hundreds of communities and groups and tens of thousands of people - including you.
“Children are losing touch with nature. We need to work to reverse this trend before it’s too late. In a recent survey carried out by the Woodland Trust 19 per cent of families with children had not visited a wood within the last year. We need to inspire our children to become future guardians of their natural environment. Tree For All is an urgent call to action.”
Youngsters from Stechford Primary School planted wild cherry, silver birch and rowan saplings. They also played a series of special environmental games, took part in a host of interactive displays at Conkers, joined a minibeast hunt and enjoyed a spot of birdwatching.
