Planting day at Wilmington Academy, Dartford
March 2016
Wilmington Academy was visited by representatives of construction company Willmott Dixon to help the pupils and staff plant trees in the school grounds. The trees are all native British species such as Bird Cherry, Crab Apple, Hornbeam and Silver Birch, all grown in England from collected seed.
"It was a very informative day, I enjoyed talking to Becky from Carbon Footprint she was very interesting and her job sounds quite fascinating. I took pride in planting my tree. I am looking forward to coming back and monitoring its progress". - Emily Prior, Year 13 Student
Wilmington Academy specialises in business, enterprise and is a Kent county vocational centre for land-based learning. In addition, it teaches priority subjects including English, mathematics, humanities, and French.
"A big thank you to Bob and Ken of the Tree Appeal, Becky of Carbon Footprint, all the representatives from Willmott Dixon, who sponsored the event, and last but not least Jeremy Kite Local Councillor for a fantastic tree planting day.
All the students selected from a range of year groups were shown how to plant a tree correctly by Bob and Ken and set to the task of planting trees around the Academy site during the morning. Everyone was photographed and the students eagerly await their competency certificate for tree planting". - Ms Pauline Llewellyn, Co-ordinator of Horticulture
Willmott Dixon have teamed up with Carbon Footprint as part of their carbon management programme and with Tree Appeal, planting native broadleaf trees in schools. Willmott Dixon are sponsoring the planting of 100 trees at the school demonstrating a commitment to environmental education and their aim of reducing their impact on the natural world.
"Wednesday was a fun and educational experience, I was not only able to help the teachers and the tree appeal in setting up the event for the students, but was also able take part in planting many trees. I think the two most important points of this event I will remember are the techniques used to plant the trees and the our responsibilities in replanting what we take from the environment." - Tyrone Ralph, Year 13 Horticulture Student
"I really enjoyed organising the tree planting day at the Academy. Bob was great to deal with and the day went really smoothly. Our students got a lot out of it and the trees around the Academy are going to look great!" - Julie Borrell, Assistant to the Horticulture Department
"The tree planting activity which took place this morning was totally unique and was interesting. I learnt a new method of tree planting." - Carradean Ralph, Year 11 Horticulture Student
"I found the session useful and the practises I learnt will help me in the BTEC Horticulture course. " - Morgan Seamons, Year 11 Horticulture Student
"The students enjoyed the experience of working alongside your students and learning how to plant the different trees. We look forward to watching the trees establish." - Gill Whitlock, Class Teacher / Milestone Academy
"I learnt how to stop the rabbits getting to the tree. I learnt how to plant a tree the proper way." - Harry Ray, Year 9 Horticulture Student