Planting day at Firthmoor Primary School, Darlington
April 2010
On a blustery but sunny spring day, Professor David Bellamy and the Tree Appeal team were lucky enough to visit Firthmoor Primary School, where 100 native broad leaved saplings were planted.
Professor Bellamy and the Firthmoor pupils unearth one of many juicy worms discovered on the day!
“My favourite part was when David was talking about all the worms we found!” Chloe Cowie, Firthmoor pupil
The trees were sponsored into the school by Cummins, who sent along an enthusiastic team of representatives to roll up their sleeves and help the school to get their trees in the ground.
Professor Bellamy then took a full school assembly, where the children had the opportunity to ask him questions about his life and experiences, before they were presented with planting certificates to mark their fantastic achievement.
"We liked planting trees as it gives us oxygen and gives wildlife a new home. It was the best thing to plant a tree with David Bellamy" Michael Elve & Katie Wennington, Firthmoor pupils
Professor Bellamy was thrilled to meet everyone at Firthmoor School and commended their ambition to develop their school grounds by planting the trees. As the saplings grow, they will help to form part of a wildlife meadow, which the school also hopes to fill with wildflowers. In the summer months, this shady wooded area will provide welcome relief from the sun, giving the children a peaceful spot in which to relax, as well as providing a much needed home for birds, mammals and insects.
The school were just as delighted to meet the botanist and television presenter, with class teacher, Miss True, saying “It was a great afternoon and David has inspired the children to find out more about their local environment and the creatures that live there.”
Professor Bellamy said, “Trees are amazing things. They live longer than we do and throughout their lives, they do something useful every second of the day. By planting these saplings, Firthmoor have shown an outstanding commitment to the environment, which will endure for many hundreds of years. A big WOW! to the children of Firthmoor and many thanks to Cummins for sponsoring them.”
During the planting, the pupils of Firthmoor were thrilled to discover a large clump of frogspawn in a muddy puddle around the edge of their school field. To save the tadpoles from certain death when the puddle dries up, the quick thinking staff provided Professor Bellamy with a bucket of water and he rescued the spawn, taking them home to begin life in the safety of his garden pond in Hamsterley Forest. Before David’s departure, the children were fascinated to hear all about how the spawn will hatch into tadpoles and grow into froglets.
