Children from Thomas A Becket Middle School in Worthing and St Andrew’s CE Primary School in Nuthurst enjoyed planting new trees and shrubs at the weekend (Saturday 30 January) to help bats and other wildlife at Ebernoe Common nature reserve near Petworth.
For the past year the children have been nurturing saplings and hedgerow shrubs in their own school tree nurseries to plant on farmland near the ancient woodland at Ebernoe.
Around forty parents, teachers and children joined forces with Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) staff and the Trust’s West Weald Landscape Project Manager, Rich Howorth, to plant oak and wild service trees, as well as over 300 native shrubs including hawthorn, hazel and blackthorn.
“Ebernoe Common is home to a variety of woodland wildlife including dormice, butterflies and many thriving colonies of bats.” explains Rich Howorth.
“Thanks to the children’s hard work the trees and plants will mature and create new homes for wildlife at this special site. Crucially the planting also links the flight path of the rare barbastelle bat found in Ebernoe’s ancient woodland. The new hedgerows will enable the bats to thrive and move more freely through the countryside when looking for food, shelter and breeding grounds.”
Both schools have been growing and caring for their trees in their own school tree nurseries supplied by the Earth Restoration Service (ERS) which funds schools and provides saplings so that children can experience and learn about conservation work first hand.
The planting initiative was funded by The Tubney Charitable Trust and the BBC Wildlife Fund using trees grown by both schools under the ERS School Tree Nursery Programme.
More information on SWT and Ebernoe Common nature reserve visit www.sussexwt.org.uk and for more information on the West Weald Landscape Project please see www.westweald.org.uk
Further information on ERS School Tree Nursery Programme is available at www.earthrestorationservice.org
ENDS
