Pupils dig deep

Over 400 pupils, along with their parents and teachers, pitched in to plant new woodland in the grounds of a Stoneycroft primary school.

Pupils at Corinthian Community Primary School planted around 500 trees, supervised by members of the Mersey Forest team, who are co-ordinating the project.

The school woodland includes a mixture of trees including native broadleaf species holly and scots pine trees. It also includes a small orchard with apples, plums, pears and cherry trees.

Once the woodland matures over the coming years, it’s hoped that the school will be able to use it as a venue for outdoor natural play sessions.

Gary Crockett, headteacher at Corinthian Community Primary School, said: “As the trees grow, we will use the woodland to teach children about nature. It’s our hope that one day we’ll be able to use the woodland for forest school sessions, which are focussed on reconnecting our children with nature.

“At the moment we’re leading forest school sessions in Croxteth Park. We’re really excited to be growing a diverse and educational natural resource in our school grounds – we can hardly wait for the trees to grow!”

Jo Sayers, community development at the Mersey Forest, said: “It was great to see so much enthusiasm from both the staff and pupils who planted the trees, and their families who came along to help them.”

The tree planting day was part of a project co-ordinated by the Mersey Forest and supported by the national Big Tree Plant Campaign and the Woodland Trust.