Hundreds of trees planted in under eight hours during planting events at two Harborough primary schools

Over 600 trees have been planted in under eight hours in two major planting events at two Market Harborough primary schools.

The ambitious initiative at Market Harborough Church of England Academy and Farndon Fields Primary School was spearheaded by growing eco-community group Harborough Woodland.

“Empowering and inspiring schoolchildren is crucial in the effort to reduce the impact of climate change.

“This no small feat is one of our key aims as we work to boost the very low number of trees across South Leicestershire and the East Midlands,” said Harborough Woodland.

Jasmine Osborne, seven, said as she planted trees at Market Harborough Church of England Academy: “I liked digging the holes and finding worms.”

Fellow pupil Ffion McInnes, eight, said: “When my children come to this school in years to come we will be able to say we planted those trees.

“We've had lots of fun.”

Shelley Groves, teacher and eco club leader at the school, said: “It was amazing to see our pupils and their families so engaged and clearly enjoying themselves when helping to plant over 400 trees.

“There was a real buzz in the atmosphere and lots of happy faces.”

She added: “We look forward to our pupils watching the trees that they have planted grow and change through the seasons.

“We are excited about all of the learning that can take place around this project.”

Noel Burton, a teacher at Farndon Fields Primary School, said: “Not only will the trees help our children to learn about and appreciate nature and provide places for animals to live.

“They will also help to offset carbon emissions and make a cleaner and healthier environment for us all to live in.

“The trees will also play their part in absorbing rainwater as we experience ever more sudden and severe rainfalls and thereby help to reduce flooding locally.”

Kimberley Durham, a Harborough Woodland volunteer who manages school tree planting, said: “It was so lovely to see the schools and their communities come together safely.

“Together, outside and safely distanced, we created a legacy to benefit the environment, to enhance our youngsters’ wellbeing and ability to connect with nature, and to increase habitat, and with it, biodiversity.”

The trees were donated to Market Harborough Church of England Academy by The Woodland Trust as part of their ‘free trees for schools’ campaign and to Farndon Fields Primary School through Harborough Woodland from TCV: The Conservation Volunteers.

Harborough Woodland’s next project brings together farmer Angus Clarke, of Waterloo Cottage Farm, Great Oxendon, and local Beavers, Cubs and Scouts from the 1st Bowdens.

They are uniting to plant trees and hedges on farmland.