East Anglia: Students get taste of tree planting on Broads

Green Team at the Horstead Centre

A new Green Team at Notre Dame High School in Norwich has embarked on its first environmental project on the Norfolk Broads.

"We need to plant more trees." This was one of the first ideas suggested by a group of students at Notre Dame High School. The newly formed 'Green Team' comprises young people with a passion for environmental issues and social action. Inspired by their keenness to make a difference, Alex Savage, Lay Chaplain sent out a series of emails with pleas for help.

Nick Sanderson, Education Officer at the Broads Authority, had just the solution. The Horstead Activity Centre, which is owned by the Anglican Diocese of Norwich, needed help to plant a new coppice of saplings they had been given as a donation.

Working alongside Broads Authority staff and volunteers, the students planted a coppice of over 200 saplings. The Horstead Team rewarded them for their hard work with a surprise of hot chocolate and marshmallows toasted over a fire. "When asked what they gained from the trip, the students remarked how much they had enjoyed working outdoors," said Alex Savage. "After spending time with the Broads Authority staff, one student said that she would now consider a job as an environmentalist."

William Mills, Centre Manager at the Horstead Centre said: "We loved having the Green Team here and would welcome them all back in a heartbeat. We look forward to seeing our new trees and shrubs grow."

Inspired by the success of this project, the Green Team have now set their sights on applying for CAFOD's Live Simply Award. To do this they will show evidence of how they are caring for our common home, in school, locally and globally. "Looking back," said Alex, it is amazing to see how all of this has grown from the seed of a single idea."

Link: https://cafod.org.uk/Campaign/Livesimply-award