Article by Charis Scott-Holm from the Goole Times
Gardening skills put to the test in tree planting day
Pupils at Kingsway Primary School put their gardening skills to work when they took part in some tree planting on Tuesday, February 2.
The youngsters who are in year four, used their spades to plant tree saplings along the boundary of some new fencing at the school.
The project was part of a partnership between The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) and Voase Builders in Hull, who have partnered with the purpose of conserving local green areas and creating healthy and happy communities across Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Working on the project basis, the partnership will span 12 months and will see TCV staff and volunteers working with local schools, communities and Voase Builders' clients to complete practical conservation activities such as improving gardens and looking after green spaces.
The building firm chose Kingsway Primary School in Goole for their first project to be carried out in East Yorkshire as they have recently built new classrooms and parking for the school, as part of a EYRC YORBuild Framework contract, and the tree and hedgerow planting is a compliment to the new boundary of the school.
Over 100 children discovered many large worms, they learnt about the hedgerow plant types, and the wildlife the hedgerow will attract in years to come.
A cherry blossom tree was also planted in the nursery playground, watched by the nursery children, and a further English oak tree and silver birch tree were planted at the front of the school.
Leah Hallas, TCV Project Officer said:
All of our volunteers and the school children had a fantastic time digging in all the new plants at Kingsway Primary School. Gardening is a great way for volunteers to maintain a happy mind and healthy body, and the local primary school now have a great hedgerow which the children can enjoy watching grow. We look forward to working with Voase Builders over the next year on similar projects.
Victoria Voase, S Voase Builders Ltd said:
We wanted to partner with a charity that made a difference to local communities and could carry out projects which would also benefit our clients. After some research into the local area, we felt TCV was a perfect fit.
We hope to make a big impact across Hull and the East Riding over the next 12 months with TCV. The planting of the hedgerow and the trees at Kingsway Primary School will provide the school with something permanent that the children can take pride in being part of. We are pleased to have been able to sponsor this for Kingsway.