This report is about the Trees for Schools project where climate resilient trees have been planted in a local primary school thanks to support from Actionpoint. As well as planting in UK woodlands, Actionpoint has supporting further planting of climate resilient trees to create educational green spaces in 3 other schools. See the other projects they have supported here.
Every tree planting workshop with the Trees for Schools programme is bespoke and tailored to the needs of the school. We take into account the age of the children and the existing availability of green space for new trees. A pre-planting consultation with the school helps us to understand which species will best suit their plans for the site, map out the planting and plan how the trees will best be used as a resource for the school and community.
Through this project, young people were taught about the importance of trees to local wildlife and why we need to plant them to help protect our planet. The children learnt how to plant trees and then helped plant them with our Education Officer. As well as educating children about climate change and wildlife, this project helped create green learning spaces in schools and benefited children’s health and wellbeing by getting them outside and learning in a new environment.
The Valley Invicta Primary School in Aylesford is part of an international network of schools forming the Eco-Schools programme. Each year, young children are chosen to be a part of the school's Eco Council and are known as Aylesford's Eco Warriors. These students undertake surveys and action plans to help improve environmental awareness and status across the school.
220 trees were planted in February 2024 to form a mixed species hedge along the boundary between Valley Invicta Primary School's playing field and the neighbouring secondary school. The school had specifically requested a way to provide screening between the younger children and the older secondary pupils. As a multi-purpose project, the hedge will also provide homes and food for lots of wildlife, plus interest, shelter and shade for the children. The plan is to let three of the trees grow up to be standards within the hedge (i.e. grow to full size and not be trimmed with the rest of the hedge).
Jemma has been a primary school teacher for 14 years and worked in environmental education for 6 years prior to that. She has a degree in Ecology and a lifelong interest in the natural world.
She says: “I love seeing children enthused about the living things they find when exploring outdoors. That sense of wonder and curiosity is magical! I firmly believe that encouraging widespread learning about the species and habitats we share the world with is vital to conserving them and managing them wisely. As an experienced teacher, I also know that learning outdoors benefits children directly, with great potential to boost interest, enjoyment and self-esteem.”
As a GreenTheUK partner, you support projects that are in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss.
