The ERS School Tree Nurseries Programme and the School Flutter Flower Programme are providing a service to both the community and the environment by helping children in schools to learn about the environment and to plant trees and create wildflower meadows in order to restore their local degraded habitats.
Deputy head teacher Maureen Shaw has provided this feedback on the school’s tree nursery, which they established in March 2013.
On our first planting we had snow, on the second hard frost and on the last day, as you can see – heavy rain!
However our trees were all planted with their ‘jackets’ on and we are looking forward to seeing them grow on our school hill.
Our work with a Local MP and School for Earth Day 2013 was recently featured in The Portsmouth News. You can find the full article below:
The MP for Gosport made the most of her horticultural skills when visiting a local school.
Caroline Dinenage has been helping pupils at St John’s Church of England Primary School to plant tree saplings and learn about the environment in celebration of Earth Day.
Caroline joined forces with Boeing and the Earth Restoration Service (ERS), which goes out into the community each year and encourages young people to play an active role in restoring the natural beauty of green spaces and woodland.
Speaking after her visit, Caroline said it was a really worthwhile experience.
‘The Earth Day initiative is a great way for children to learn about ecology, showing that gardening can be fun and enjoyable, while teaching young people about the importance of protecting our environment.
This fantastic scheme also helps people engage in local community projects and I was really impressed with the green fingers on display today.’
The Earth Restoration Service’s goal is to inspire young people to play their part in restoring the natural health of their own environments.
Link to Article Available Here: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/education/gosport-mp-marks-earth-day-by-planting-a-tree-at-school-1-5043030
Holme on Spalding Moor Primary School established their own school tree nursery with saplings provided by ERS in March 2013. Headteacher Mark Alston has provided this feedback.
All the trees seem to be budding and we have given them a good mulch of compost and bark chippings. The children in the photos are members of our gardening club and they will be looking after the saplings as they grow on.
Lockwood Primary School Received trees in March 2013 to set up their school tree nursery. Teacher Diane Pattison has provided this update:
Just to let you know that the trees have been planted in and around our garden area, where they are now attended to by the care-taker (who runs the gardening club) along with the children.
Knights Templar school received saplings from us to start their own School Tree Nursery in March 2013. Teacher Chris Gough has provided these photos from the planting.
Teacher Frances Berry has provided this update on Greenfields School’s tree nursery:
In our school we are developing our outdoor grounds and run weekly Forest School sessions. We have planted the saplings you kindly donated around our Forest School area where they will make a significant improvement in developing the character of the area as well as the environment. Below is a photograph of the saplings immediately after we planted them.
Eco Coordinator Damian Eanetta has given us an update on the school’s tree nursery planting:
We now have our trees planted. We decided it was best to initially plant the trees in pots as we are currently in the process of developing our EcoGarden and intend to transfer the trees to this area once we have them well established. We had a half day planting with some parent volunteers and members of our school Eco committee. You will see our garden in the background of some of the pictures. The trees are cared for by the Eco committee and this has been a very rewarding venture.
Feedback from Teacher Harriet Mayo on the school’s Flutter Flower planting on 8th March:
‘What a great sight you all were! Well done for sticking with it in spite of the weather – the kids were all buzzing! Will send you some photos as and when they flower. And if you are ever in the area, pop in and see how it’s all looking!’
Newcastle Bridges received 50 saplings in February 2013 to start their own school tree nursery. Teacher Chris Sheehan has given us an update:
We have just this week managed to get the trees planted due to snow and frozen ground, saying that it has started to snow again. We planted the tree in our street garden which is protected all round by a fence. The trees have been planted next to broad beans to benefit from their nitrogen fixing ability. The children are looking forward to growing these trees on and using them to plant out around our site and for use in the local community.
