Schoolchildren plant nearly 100 trees to leave green Jubilee legacy for village

Pupils at Norton-in-Hales CofE Primary School, near Market Drayton, were joined by the Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire, Anna Turner, who used to live in the area and wanted to take part.

Angela Alkureishi, headteacher at the school, said the children are really interested in the environment and sustainability so it was the perfect project.

"It was lovely and I think a bit overwhelming for the children," she said. "You don't expect something like this to have that much of an effect, but they loved it.

"We have a local farmer, Matthew Eardley, who has a bit of land he can't farm due to its small size – they can't use machinery up there really. His granddaughter goes to our school and the land is not far from here so he asked us if we wanted to create a woodland area there.

"So we all went up on Thursday and planted nearly 100 trees. We also wanted to link this woodland project with the Queen's Green canopy scheme for the Platinum Jubilee."

The Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire, Anna Turner, previously lived nearby and when she heard about the project she contacted the school to take part and be there on the day.

Mrs Alkureishi added: "The tree planting project is a lovely idea and the children are so interested in sustainability and conscious about the environment. They were even able to tell us all about the trees we were planting and the knowledge they have is amazing.

"It's great for them to have that legacy as well – in 10 to 20 years they can come back and see the trees they have planted.

"This Jubilee is about leaving a greener planet and green legacy, so that is what the children will be doing.

"Every child had their own tree to plant, and a few adults, so it was almost 100 that were planted on the farmland.

"It's just so great for them to be outside – they are really able to articulate how good they feel in the outdoors. It's something that is so lovely, and really elevates their mood."