500 Trees & Planting!
Lancashire school children plant trees to help tackle climate change and flooding
Young people from six schools in the Pendle Borough and Ribble Valley in Lancashire have helped to plant over 500 tree saplings in the Pendle Hill landscape, thanks to funding from The Ernest Cook Trust and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Pupils from nine local primary and secondary schools were involved in this project, which is one of 14 projects started by the Pendle Hill Landscape Partnership (PHLP). Working with the Ribble Rivers Trust, PHLP aims to create 19 hectares of woodlands to improve biodiversity on Pendle Hill through The Woodland & Invasive Non-Native Species Project.
Outdoor Learning Officer Alison Cross (who works for PHLP and is funded by The Ernest Cook Trust) ran sessions at Sabden, near Whins House, helping pupils identify and learn about tree species already growing on the site. Alison said,
There were two very large oak trees in the field, which the Year 5s and 6s calculated as being over 225 years old. This really shocked the pupils and teachers, that something they plant could live for that long.
The school children got to work planting 14 native species, after a helpful demonstration by the Ribble Rivers Trust. These newly planted trees will not only boost biodiversity, but also improve water quality in Sabden Brook and help to prevent flooding in the local area.
Teachers from Pendle Primary School in Clitheroe who brought all their Year 5 and Year 6 pupils to the tree planting sessions, commented,
The opportunities for cross-curricular learning were great and it exemplified to our teachers how Outdoor Learning can engage children and provide relevance for their maths, science and english work.
It was a delight to see the children really enjoying their activities and develop skills such as resilience, collaborative work and perseverance.
Working with schools on projects such as this is key to helping teachers understand the importance of Outdoor Learning, showing them how to implement different teaching methods into their own practice.
Find free resources including Plants and Soils Lesson Plans on the PHLP website.
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