Thurso High pupils dig in to plant trees in school grounds as part of Woodland Trust project
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PUPILS at Thurso High have embarked on a project to spruce up the grounds around the school.
They are going to plant 330 trees and 30 hedges which were given to them by the Woodland Trust. The exercise has just started and is expected to be undertaken in stages until February next year.
Janitor Colin Mclean thought it would be a good idea to have some shrubbery around the school and mentioned it to depute rector Craig Omand who contacted the Woodland Trust.
A variety of trees and hedges suitable for the weather conditions in the far north were despatched and the planting got under way a week last Sunday when around 25 senior pupils and staff got involved in the initiative. Another session took place last week.
"So far we have planted about 130 trees. At the moment, they are just saplings and measure between six and 18 inches but in about five years time they should be be between five and six feet tall," said Mr Mclean.
"It is very inspiring to see something being done for the benefit of the school and the environment. It is the first time I have seen a project of this kind on this scale in my 10 years here."
Geography teacher Fiona Bremner said: "We hope the trees will soon become established and help improve the appearance of the school periphery and be good for the environment as they take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," she said.
The trees were given to the school by the Woodland Trust which says the UK needs millions more trees to reach its 2050 carbon net-zero target.
"We want to make sure everybody in the UK has the chance to plant a tree. So we’re giving away hundreds of thousands of trees to schools and communities. Together, we'll get millions more trees in the ground," state the trust on its website.
It works to plant and halt the loss of native woods and trees and restore existing woodland to peak condition.
The trust also manages and looks after around 60 woods in Scotland, covering more than 11,000 hectares.
