Schools back bid to plant a million trees

SCHOOL children from across Northern Ireland took part in a nationwide campaign this month to plant a million trees to combat climate change.

Students from St Nicholas PS, Downpatrick, St Paul’s Primary School, Irvinestown, Rosstulla Special School in Newtownabbey and Sacred Heart Primary School in Tattyreagh, Omagh, have joined over 300 schools from across Ireland to take part in development charity Self Help Africa Northern Ireland’s ‘One Million Trees’ campaign and will plant trees in their local school grounds while supporting a wider initiative to plant trees in Africa, and highlight the impact that climate change is having on poor and vulnerable communities on the African continent.

The local schools tree planting initiative is supported by the Irish National School Teachers Association (INTO), which provided native Irish tree seedlings for distribution to classrooms across the country to support the charity initiative.

Many of the schools involved also arranged collections and donations to Self Help Africa’s campaign, which aims to plant one million trees in Africa and 100,000 native trees in Ireland each year to support communities affected by climate change, offset the effects of harmful greenhouse gases, and also highlight the importance and value of tree planting as a means of combating global warming.

“Children are extremely passionate about the environment. They’re alarmed by the stories that they read and hear about global warming, and want change,” said Sean McMahon, who is coordinating the schools campaign for Self Help Africa.

n More information is available about Self Help Africa’s schools tree planting initiative at selfhelpafrica.org/onemilliontrees/schools/