Nairn Academy in Scotland received 50 saplings to set up their own school tree nursery in February 2019. Deputy headteacher Sarah Abenheimer has provided this update and photos below;
The trees have settled well and are beginning to green up already. We made raised beds using timber and tyres and planted out all of the trees. Our pupils are going to use the tree nursery to enable them to complete a certificate class in Rural Skills with a unit in Forestry- raising and caring for young trees. Without your trees we would not have been able to run this course. As there are local timber companies who recruit from the local area who look for expertise in their employees, this allows our pupils greater access to employment and locally relevant qualifications.
We also applied for trees from the Woodland Trust and we gifted some from a local forestry company so have begun a rewilding project in our grounds- so far we have planted 400 trees and plan a wild flower meadow and turf walled outdoor classroom. We are working with a local charity and community group, Nairn Greenhive, who will help us plan where to locate the trees you provided once they are big enough to be planted in the community and they will form part of a regeneration of our green spaces and of more neglected and deprived areas.
Your trees have also given us confidence- we now have a school orchard with 25 local varieties of fruit trees too!
