Primary school children and community teaming up to start planting a woodland near Radford Semele

Primary school children and community organisation ARC (Achieving Results in Communities) have teamed up to begin planting a woodland near Radford Semele during National

Tree week later this month.

The project is part of the Children’s Forest programme, an initiative to get young people involved in tree planting and looking after the natural environment.

Together with pupils from Radford Semele primary school, ARC - the organisation which created the Foundry Wood community woodland in Leamington - will begin planting trees at Leasowe Farm during National Tree Week.

From November 27 to December 5 National Tree Week, organised by the National Tree Council, is the UK’s largest annual tree celebration, marking the start of the winter tree planting

season.

Kristie Naimo, ARC director, said: "We are very excited to be starting this tree planting with children from Radford Semele - and what good timing with National Tree week.

“The Children's Forest in the Warwick district is an exciting new project funded by Warwickshire County Council’s Green Shoots Climate Change fund. We will invite children and their families not only to plant the trees but to help look after them in the coming months and years to ensure they grow into a flourishing woodland.”

ARC says the community woodland will also be an important educational project .

“It’s important to make the connection between trees and the role they play in reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere,” says Kristie.

“We will also facilitate activities alongside the tree planting which will help us understand what steps we can all take in our lives to reduce the amount of carbon we produce."

ARC says it will continue planting trees with the community throughout the winters of 2021/22 and 2022/23, and aim to involve a number of local schools as well as other groups of children and their families.

More tree planting and tree tending days are planned over the coming 18 months, so if a school, community group or a family would like to get in involved in the Children's Forest at Leasowe Farm they should go: http://www.arccic.co.uk/childrensforest/ and sign up to the mailing list to receive updates.