St Francis School in Pewsey is celebrating their gold award from the Woodland Trust’s Green Schools initiative – the Green Tree School Awards. The gold award recognizes the green activities carried out at the school. These include tree planting, reducing carbon emissions and recycling.
Pupils from St Francis participated in ancient tree hunts in local woods and forests. They guessed the ages of the trees as well as identifying them.
They helped to look after their own environment by removing litter from the school’s woodland. The children also became nature detectives and were encouraged to look for specific objects, flora and fauna during different seasons. This enabled them to learn more about the woodland and the special environment it provides.
More than 12,000 schools have participated in the Green Tree School Awards since it was launched in 2008. It offers the opportunity to bring the great outdoors, wildlife and green issues into the classroom.
Felicity Couse, Kindling Forest School Co-ordinator, said, “This is a fantastic achievement for St Francis. The ‘Green Tree Schools Award’ recognises the work schools do to help learn about and care for our woodlands within the local community and nationally. It also helps our pupils learn about important green issues. We are now working towards our Platinum award!”