The aim of the Schools Project
‘My Life, My Tree, Growing Together’
The project is to gain an understanding of the beauty and importance of our native woods and hedgerows and by involving young children, give them a sense of ownership and appreciation for the local environment. We have had 'children' coming back in their 20s to check on the progress of the trees they planted out whilst aged 9 or 10. The Schools project goes under the banner 'My life. My tree, Growing Together'. We think that is exactly what encapsulates this ethos.
How it Works
We have one paid Schools Project Officer and with DBS checked member volunteers, we now visit 4 rural first and primary schools through the school year.
Each school has 4 sessions delivering a range of activities that are season specific. The curriculum ensures a progression of learning for the children's time in school from Y1 to Y4 in First Schools or to Y6 in Primary.
The school year with Trees for Dorset (TfD) begins in early autumn with Year 1, where the children collect, identify and plant seeds, nuts and berries they gather from their local environment.
Our second session is later in the autumn term with Year 3. Here the children collect tree leaves, classify and identify them. They learn about decomposition and conduct a scientific investigation involving leaves and worms, trying to find out whether worms have a preference or not!!
During the second term younger children identify winter buds and plant out their saplings from Y1 into a school nursery bed, whilst the oldest pupils in the school plant larger trees somewhere in the community. This could be school grounds, a local farmer's hedgerow or a church yard. We have planted hundreds of trees in a wide variety of settings over the years.
The final school visit takes some of the older children to a local ancient woodland during the bluebell season to conduct an ecological study. They look for wild flowers to identify and work as 'Woodland Detectives' to find out as much as they can about the animals that use the woods, age the oldest trees and find out how the woods have evolved through human influences over time.
Every session has a major accessible outdoor element. Children learn best by 'doing' and finding out with a 'hands on', kinesthetic approach.
Taking the project forward and how you could help
TfD have secured funding for a second project officer to expand into more schools. We are seeking a suitable candidate for this position and there are also volunteering opportunities to support the project officers delivering the sessions. If you would like to find out more about these opportunities please email info@treesfordorset.co.uk
