Seeing the Wood for the Trees – St Mary’s School Ascot

As we studied trees we understood how important they are for wildlife and biodiversity. Now we care about trees more than ever.

Year 7 at St Mary’s School Ascot used the Roots & Shoots activity ‘A World without trees’ as an inspiration to research and learn about issues such as the change of forests over time – particular forests in Great Britain – deforestation and reforestation programs, and how deforestation affects climate change. 

Trees do lots for people and animals; they help to keep our air clean and our ecosystem healthy because we breathe in the oxygen which the tree gives out and breathe out carbon dioxide which the trees take in. A perfect partnership! 

But we don’t just have to love trees for practical reasons; we can also admire their beauty in summer when they are lush, and in winter when we can study the bare tree silhouettes. 

Discovering that every minute, a forest the size of 20 football fields is cut down was a shocking discovery.

Student’s suggestions included the founding of a ‘National Plant a Tree Day’ and the raising of funds with a ‘Tree Hugging Day’, where a pound is paid to hug a tree and the money goes to those charities which support the conservation of trees, such as The Woodland Trust.