Our pupils joined forces with those from United College Sixth Form (based at Swindon Academy) to plant 420 saplings as part of the two schools’ ongoing partnership.
Thirty pupils worked together to plant the trees over a two-hour period on Wednesday 8th December. The trees were donated by the Woodland Trust and were planted at the top of Granham Hill, above the newly restored Marlborough white horse, on an area of grassland owned by the College with a public footpath running through it. The project was aimed at providing pupils with an opportunity to have a positive impact on the environment and to leave a natural area for the benefit of wildlife, and a place which can be appreciated by anyone walking by. The intention is that this environmentally focused project will be passed on from year to year, with pupils from both schools continuing to visit and look after the health of the trees as they grow, using a programme of cyclical maintenance.
The project is part of the Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC), a unique, UK-wide tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, by inviting people to ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’. Everyone from individuals to groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporations are encouraged to play their part to enhance our environment by planting trees during the official planting season between October 2021 and March 2022.
The pupils who took part are to be congratulated on the energy and enthusiasm with which they approached the task, as can be seen in this gallery of photos.
