Thousands of new trees planted by school children

At least 7,000 new trees have been planted by primary school children in part of West Yorkshire to create more green spaces.

Pupils from Fieldhead Primary Academy, Netherthong Primary, Kirkburton CofE First School and Newsome Junior School have been involved in the scheme in Kirklees.

Children in each location were given trees to plant which were chosen specially to fit the different soils in their area.

Joe Robertson, woodland development manager at Kirklees Council, said: "The younger generation are really important, it will be that generation that benefits from the work we're doing."

The children have worked with Kirklees Council's woodland development team along with community groups KindleWoods and River Holme Connections.

Mr Robertson said: "Most of our planting so far has been delivered by those volunteers and we're really keen to keep building on that.

"Getting the primary schools involved has been a new step and a really valuable one."

One pupil from Newsome Junior School, who was also a Year 6 council representative, said: “We really liked having time out of school to interact with different people. The team running the planting were nice and very helpful."

Rooney Kelly, head teacher at Netherthong Primary School, said: “The children and staff had great fun learning about how to plant a tree correctly, and getting muddy and wet.

"The whole school took part in naming the wood, led by our school government, and came up with some really imaginative names.

"We are now excited to watch them grow as we grow and will always remember the trees we planted.”

The five sites in Kirklees with new woodland areas were planted with a number of different types of trees to fit the soil in each location, including oak, rowan, hawthorn, birch, hazel and alder, and some fruit trees.

The youngsters involved in the scheme also came up with names for the five sites:

• South Brow Woods, off Newsome Road South, Newsome
• Owler Wood, off Owler Lane, Birstall
• Lady Mill Woods, off Park Lane, Newsome
• Fairfield Woods, off Shelley Lane, Kirkburton
• Netherthong Woods, off Thong Lane, Netherthong

Councillor Munir Ahmed, cabinet member for the environment and highways, said: “It’s wonderful our school children can be hands-on in creating new woodlands, learn about the benefits they bring to our lives and then watch them grow.

"As a key partner with The White Rose Forest, we are working towards increasing the Kirklees tree canopy cover by 2050 as part of our Clean and Green priorities.

"I'm thrilled that people of all ages from the community are joining us in this endeavour."

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