The Tree Council of Ireland is calling on primary schools across Dublin to plant a tree on SPAR National Tree Day, on Thursday week, Oct 7.
The theme for this year’s campaign is ‘Trees are Good Neighbours’and aims to encourage primary school children and their families to think more about the important role trees play in supporting the environment and the biodiversity found in and under the tree.
SPAR National Tree Day is an opportunity for children, teachers and parents to put down the school books, spend time outdoors and learn to become more environmentally aware. Trees help to clean our air, help to fight the climate crisis and, if we take time to look under the tree, we can see how they support and protect whole eco-systems, offering shelter, shade, food, resting and nesting spaces as well as a food source for birds and insects.
There are 1,500 Native Irish Wild Cherrytree saplings available through the campaign website for primary schools to plant on their school grounds, or in a pot in the classroom. More details on the campaign, how to get involved and how, just like a tree, we can be great neighbours to the environment can be found at www.treeday.ie. Videos, lesson plans, poster downloads as well as information on recycling, food waste and nature walks are also available.
Éanna Ní Lamhna, President of the Tree Council of Ireland, commented: “Trees are absolutely essential. As we’ve spent more time out and about in nature over the last while, we can all appreciate how much they add to our environment and see just what good neighbours they are. They look after us in so many ways from cleaning our air to enriching our soil and support so much wildlife. This SPAR National Tree Day is a great opportunity for us all to stop and think about how we can return the favour and support the trees. We’d be delighted to see as many schools as possible register for their free sapling and keep on pledging to help the environment.”
Colin Donnelly, SPAR Sales Director said: “We want to encourage children to think about all we get from trees, how they enhance our communities and are wonderful neighbours to the environment.”
To find out more about this year’s SPAR National Tree Day and to claim a FREE Native Irish Wild Cherry tree sapling for your school, visit www.treeday.ie.
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