Community greening by Ark Putney Academy

Action for Conservation led three in-person workshops at Ark Putney Academy. The workshops included tree planting activities and wider education about key environmental issues both locally and globally. Each workshop had a key theme.

• Workshop 1: The importance of trees in London. Young people learnt about London’s environmental challenges, including air pollution, climate change and biodiversity. They also learnt about how tree planting can have a positive impact on both people and the environment.
• Workshop 2: Design and planning. Young people designed a tree planting project at the nearby Putney Community Gardens. They learnt about trees’ important role in urban greening, flood reduction and community food growing. They were introduced to various tree species and their suitability for the local climate. Using what they had learnt, the students decided which tree species they would plant and where.
• Workshop 3: Tree planting action day. Young people took part in tree planting activities. They also worked with Putney Community Gardens to create a maintenance plan for the trees.

Because it was hard to find an appropriate tree planting site in school grounds, Action for Conservation asked Putney Community Gardens if they could provide an alternative planting site. The Putney Community Gardens team provided hands-on support to the school. There was a strong overlap with the WildED programme and Putney Community Gardens’ vision to connect nature, people and food.

The staff lead at Putney Community Gardens took an active role during the workshops. They presented native fruit tree options, like Quince and Medlar, and discussed their recommendations with the students.

By sharing this knowledge, the students learnt more about the best tree species for their area and voted on the trees they wanted to plant. 13 trees were planted at three different sites within the estate, including Plum, Medlar, Pear, Apple and Cherry trees.

The tree planting day at Putney Community Gardens was a great success. The event reached the wider community, with four community volunteers joining the group after seeing the students plant with the Putney Community Gardens team. Collaboration between schools and local community groups is often very successful at fostering community spirit and encouraging people to take care of their local environment.

Working with local tree experts also gave the students more knowledge on how to care for trees. The staff lead at Putney Community Gardens taught the students about the importance of ongoing tree care. Several of the students pledged to continue monitoring their trees' growth and care. Future collaborations with Ark Putney Academy’s Gardening Club and Putney Community Gardens have also been planned thanks to the WildED programme.

However, a significant challenge for Action for Conservation was school recruitment. Several schools were unable to sign up to the WildED programme as school staff didn’t have the time or capacity to deliver the programme.

Another challenge was the lack of planting space within school grounds. Many Inner London schools don’t have a lot of green space or good quality soil for planting. School maintenance teams also had already established their own tree planting plans and were sometimes reluctant to incorporate young people’s efforts.

• Make borough tree officers aware of any proposed work early. They can help to connect schools with community planting groups. During the WildED programme, some borough tree officers expressed interest in taking a more active role in school planting in future.
• Allow enough lead-in time when planning school planting projects. Ideally, these projects should start during the summer term (April to July) before planting season (December to March). This provides extra time for teacher training and to reach out to community groups if alternative planting sites are needed.

Find out more about Action for Conservation’s WildED programme.