Don't just eat your greens - eat your trees!
School children across the UK are set to plant free packs of edible trees this autumn thanks to the Woodland Trust and Sainsbury's Active Kids.
10,000 "edible hedge & copse" packs are being distributed across the country, which will see 300,000 children plant native trees in their school grounds and community spaces.
As part of the Woodland Trust's "More Trees, More Good" campaign, which aims to facilitate the planting of 20 million native trees every year for the next 50 years, 10,000 schools and community groups will be receiving free packs of 30 trees to plant. All of which, when mature will not only provide shelter and habitats, but also edible nuts and fruit. The packs contain dog rose, elder, cherry plum, hazel, crab apple and blackthorn saplings.
Victoria Redfern from Sainsbury's Active Kids: "As part of our 'Sustainabili-tree' strategy we intend to plant two million trees over the next five years. By funding the Trust's hedge & copse packs we see it as a valuable contribution to this goal and also providing a valuable resource to the UK's young school children. It's a great way for them to experience first hand the unique wonder of planting a tree."
Since the Trust launched hedge & copse packs in autumn 2004 over two million trees have been planted by schools and youth groups across the UK, providing a valuable contribution to native woodland habitats. The edible packs are new for 2010 and have been compiled to help increase the availability of food sources for many of our native species.
Christina Joachim, Woodland Trust campaign development officer: "Yet again we have been oversubscribed with requests for tree packs this autumn, which shows that there is a real appetite in our country's schools to plant trees. The new edible packs will not only help us towards our 20 million tree-planting target but uniquely provide a host of food sources for native wildlife."
Schools can apply now for a FREE pack to be delivered in spring 2011, register online at www.MoreTreesMoreGood.org.uk/schools