Green rewards: Derbyshire schools urged to join the Woodland Trust’s fun-filled scheme

A Derbyshire school inspired by a groundbreaking national environmental award scheme - which has seen more than two million UK children learning about woods, wildlife and nature - has urged other schools to take part.

The Green Tree Schools Award, run by the Woodland Trust, celebrated its 15-year anniversary last year, and since then more than a third of all UK schools have joined the scheme to learn about the environment and its importance in a fun and practical way.  

St Andrews Academy SEN school, Derby signed up to the UK’s largest conservation charity’s inspirational scheme and – like thousands of other schools – started completing simple green activities, such as nature walks, tree-planting or recycling, to gain points and work towards bronze, silver and gold awards.

• In the East Midlands almost 600 schools have registered for the GTSA over the past 16 years, with 188 in Derbyshire – of which 22 have achieved the silver award or above.
• Across central England more than 7000 schools have signed up to the scheme, with 2657 schools at bronze level and above. There are 484 with gold awards and 88 with platinum awards. 

The journey doesn’t stop at the top of the “Olympic” podium, with the prestigious platinum award completing the journey following a golden performance, and there’s no better time to join the fun than during National Tree Week, which is on until Sunday, 1st December.

The Woodland Trust’s Green Tree School Award has a huge range of benefits, including getting children involved in nature and doing wonders for their mental health.

Woodland Trust youth development officer at the Young People’s Forest in Derbyshire, Simon Doherty, said that working with the students from Saint Andrews School he has seen “remarkable transformations in their confidence and skills.  These young individuals faced complex challenges, yet they thrived outside the classroom and in the woodland setting,” he explained.

“They designed and constructed a lovely picnic area featuring benches and bird hides, created willow fences, and assisted in cleaning the hard surface paths. One of my favourite stories involves a young man who initially struggled with counting but eventually reached his goal of counting to 12 by stripping willow.

“The Green Tree School Award is a wonderful scheme and should be integrated across all levels of learning, so young people get the opportunity to learn in the outdoor environment.”

Teacher Dan Tranter said being involved in the scheme was a “hugely rewarding experience” and encouraged other schools to begin their “GTSA journey”.

The school have been linking activities that the students are doing with GTSA challenges and have been allocating points.

“The students have really got involved and have done all sorts of challenges and tasks,” Dan added. “It’s been great to see.

“They have created a sensory garden, planted trees in the school and in the community, worked on environmental projects at Mead Young People’s Forest and much more.”

The initiative has also done wonders for students when it comes to mental health and wellbeing, with den building and woodland walks particularly fun and rewarding. 

Woodland Trust schools engagement manager Karen Letten spent a day with the students at the Young People’s Forest and said it’s a “wonderful scheme”. “It gets them out of the classroom and interested in the environment,” she added. “They're immersing themselves in nature.”

Around 8,000 UK schools have achieved at least bronze status on the GTSA, but Karen has much bigger ambitions: “I want every UK school to be a Green Tree School. 

“Signing up and taking part is incredibly quick, easy and totally free. And there’s a host of interesting activities and challenges to take part in – both in and out of the classroom. It’s not just planting trees. Even schools with very little outdoor space can get involved and progress through the awards.

“But, from woodland visits to tree parties and planting trees, getting involved in nature is a pivotal experience for children. And we know that they very often remember this well into adulthood.”

For any school that wants to plant trees, the Woodland Trust can help there too – with millions of trees given to schools and community groups every year. All a school needs to do is apply for as many saplings as they can accommodate. The charity and its funders will do the rest.