Forest the size of tennis court to help cut carbon

Hautlieu students Biana Mohair (18) and Gracie McGinnis (17) plant a pear tree. Picture: TONY PIKE PHOTOGRAPHER (30299187)

Students at Hautlieu School, in conjunction with Jersey Trees for Life, planted 600 trees in an area the size of a tennis court at the school.

The initiative is designed to recognise the potential environmental benefits of small-scale forests through the planting of trees and hedgerows.

Leonie Bedward, a teacher at Hautlieu, helped co-ordinate the event and believes the planting can be used as an educational tool to teach students about climate change.

‘It is a great way to get the students involved and teach them about climate change and our eco-system.

‘The school is filled with lots of surrounding green space and so it is great to see it being used to its full potential.’

Mrs Bedward said she was looking forward to watching the trees grow throughout the next couple of years.

‘These little pockets of forest can help relieve carbon in the atmosphere and it will be great for the younger students to see the forest grow
throughout their school years.’

A spokesperson for Jersey Trees for Life said: ‘Trees for Life are always keen to promote education at all levels and so the location at Hautlieu School and the direct involvement of students in both planting and onwards monitoring means this tiny-forest project has huge benefits to the community as a whole.

‘Hopefully this tiny forest will be the first of many and we look forward to seeing how the Hautlieu site develops over the coming years and how we as a community can learn from and appreciate all it brings in the future.’

They added: ‘Our many thanks also go to Nigel Blandin from the 4Hire group for his help with the bio-fuel digger and all his hard work with this project.’