Tree-mendous woodland project begins

L-R: Jo Metcalfe, Rueben & Riley (year 3), Cllr Nasima Begum

The mayor of Lowestoft joined children from Elm Tree Primary and other local organisations to plant trees at the launch of a unique woodland project at the school on 23 January.

The first “Discover the World Woodland” project – a collaboration between the school, Community Interest Companies Greener Growth and Seeding Hope, and travel company Discover the World – will see 1,000 trees planted in a new woodland area at Elm Tree Primary School.

Greener Growth has been working with Elm Tree, part of Evolution Academy Trust, for eight years on a variety of outdoor projects across the school, including establishing seven separate garden areas across the school site for the benefit of pupils and the wider environment.

A third of the 1,000 saplings are heritage fruit and nut trees, the rest are native woodland and hedging stock. They are being planted in a way that will help enhance biodiversity from the start, with areas that will grow into glades full of wildflowers, wildlife ponds and bench seats - all linked together by a nature trail.

These trees are the first 1,000 grown via a collaboration between Seeding Hope and HMP Whitemoor and HMP Maidstone, as a rehabilitative project which is also biodiversity-enhancing.

Dawn Burton, Deputy Headteacher at Elm Tree Primary, has led this project on behalf of the school. She said: “It is really exciting to be planting a discover the world woodland to leave as a legacy for future Elm Tree children and our community. It’s really important for the children to understand about looking after our planet.”

Jo Metcalfe, founder of Greener Growth, said: “This is a completely unique project – the first collaborative project between a school, Discover the World, Seeding Hope and Greener Growth. Elm Tree passionately believes in outdoor education, so they were a natural first choice for us for this initial sponsored woodland. If any other schools or organisations would like to find out more about becoming the next woodland site, please get in touch.”

Those who attended on the day included the mayor of Lowestoft Cllr Nasima Begum, children from St Albans Catholic High School (who are sponsoring the trees as a carbon compensation for the air miles used on the geography school trip to Iceland), local business representatives, and staff from Greener Growth, Seeding Hope and Discover The World.