Heage schoolkids dig in for Derbyshire community forest

Every child carefully planted a tree, from English oak to birch, aspen and wild cherry, to create an extended forest school area, in addition to dozens of fruit trees that have been planted to create a new orchard to provide food for the school and new learning opportunities.

The new trees will also provide habitats to support a wealth of suburban wildlife from songbirds and small mammals to bees and other pollinators, bringing pupils into daily contact with nature and helping them to learn and appreciate their local environment.

Caroline Clark, Heage Primary School sustainability lead, said: “The support we’ve had from Derbyshire’s Heartwood Community Forest has been amazing. We had some land that wasn’t being used and their team helped draw up a fantastic planting scheme, organised all the trees and helped with planting, all for free!

“We’ve had such a wonderful time getting all the children involved - they’ve loved planting, giving their trees a name and wishing them good luck. And this is only the start - these trees will bring us so many benefits as a school in the future too, it’s amazing.”

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Net Zero and Environment Councillor Carol Wood said: “Derbyshire’s Heartwood Community Forest is all about supporting enthusiastic communities like Heage Primary School to improve their area and enhance health and wellbeing, and this project just goes to show how much can be achieved with even the smallest area of land.

Derbyshire’s Heartwood Community Forest, funded by the Government and led by Derbyshire County Council, aims to increase tree cover across eastern, north eastern and southern Derbyshire and Derby and offers government-funded grants for woodland creation, hedgerow planting and ongoing maintenance for up to 15 years.

Schools, landowners, farmers, and community groups can apply online. For more information visit www.derbyshire.gov.uk/heartwood