Pupils at Bradley Stoke Community School have been engaged in numerous extracurricular activities in this academic year, and one of these has involved volunteering with the Forest of Avon Trust.

A group of Year 9 students from the school went into the woodlands near Wick, just before their Christmas school holidays, in order to help the organisation with its work.

The young people learned skills such as ‘coppicing’ (a method in which tree stems are cut down, encouraging new shoots to come through) and cutting protective layers away from trees that had been planted as part of the Millenium Forests Project. The pupils also helped out on a new ‘Courtyard Project’ for a few hours. The Forest of Avon Trust welcomed the involvement of the school and provided a valuable, practical learning opportunity.

Mike Dilger from BBC1’s The One Show came to interview students on their progress while they worked: he was impressed with their enthusiasm and commitment for caring about their local environment.

The students were offered soup and doughnuts as a reward for all their hard work in the woods. The experience served to build stronger links between the trust and the school, whilst allowing young people to feel a sense of contribution towards their local environment.

For more information about the work of The Forest of Avon Trust, visit: forestofavontrust.org

Article by Pallavi Hallur Pallavi is a local resident and writer who moved to the area after completing a degree in English from Cambridge University in 2004. Since then, she has worked in the fields of media and education, and has been involved in youth projects within the community.

Tags: Bradley Stoke Community School, Forest of Avon Trust, volunteering

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