In the beginning of March 2021, only a week after children were back to school again, the Earth Restoration Service donated 50 trees to Upper Rhymney Primary School in Tredegar, Caerphilly in Southern Wales. No less than 11 teachers across several years took part in the planting with 62 children aged 0-13 years old.
Below is the feedback that was provided by the teachers of the different years and groups that took part in the tree planting. A great way to get back to school after so much time at home!
Nursery
“The children enjoyed discussing and looking at pictures of the trees. They wanted to know what the trees we planted would look like when they had grown. We used the internet to search for our type of tree and looked at what it looks like. Lovely discussion using colours and size. Children enjoyed being outdoors, making holes, measuring and planting.”
Reception / Year 1
“Staff and children enjoyed planting the trees. We ensured we followed the given instructions and used a metre stick to measure the distance between trees planted. Roles were split between children where they worked as a team to dig, plant, stake, etc. We are excited to watch our trees grow! We planted on a wet and windy day, using your quote as inspiration – ‘If it’s a bad day for the planter, it’s a good day for the trees!’”
Year 1/2
“The children were very excited about planting the trees. Prior to planting we watched a video on You Tube about trees. This provided us with lots of information. We discussed the facts about the importance of trees in our environment, and we drew and labelled the structure of a tree. The children also learned new mathematical terms such as billion and trillion. Next time I would plan to do more cross curricular work.”
Year 3/4
“This proved to be a very beneficial day and encouraged discussion on why trees are important to our environment; the best way to sustain them; how to protect them.”
Year 5
“Very easy to do. The children were able to have a go independently and enjoyed the activity. It was also a great opportunity to talk about the importance of trees in our environment and the impact on our wider environment and the world. Materials provided were excellent and easy to use, and most of all, the children had fun!!”
Year 6
“Lovely activity for the children – they all got really stuck in! They liked the idea that we are looking after them until they grow bigger and then we will transfer them into the community.”
