On a sunny day in June, Version One’s PR Manager, Liz Ebbrell, took time out of her busy schedule to attend a Tree Appeal planting event, along with Professor David Bellamy.  This gave her the opportunity to meet some of the grateful recipients of sponsored trees.

Liz said, "Spending the time at a school which is directly benefiting from donated trees has put a whole new perspective on Version One's green initiative.”  The event took place at West London Academy in Northolt, where five feature trees were planted in the school’s outdoor learning environment, Academy Fields. The planting was presided over by a hungry kestrel, which hovered above the site whilst everyone got stuck into digging! Its presence there was evidence that voles and other small mammals are residing in the grounds and will find shelter from these birds of prey in the existing and new trees.  As Professor Bellamy pointed out to the children, trees do something useful every second of their long lives and for Version One, the experience was a real eye-opener as to the rewarding benefits of tree planting.  Liz concluded, “I knew our company's involvement with Tree Appeal was worthwhile but, until today, I didn't have first hand experience of the organisation's great work. I can now remember children's smiling faces, the teachers' enthusiasm about the school's tree planting project and David Bellamy's passion for biodiversity - this is now what I consider Version One's work with Tree Appeal to be all about."

ABOUT THE SCHOOL

The Academy Fields planting site, where Version One helped to plant the feature trees, is set in over five acres of land, which has already undergone an extensive programme of tree planting and includes a large pond and a weather station.  There are also two covered outdoor classrooms, with seating for sixty students.  The location sits adjacent to the busy A40, but whilst walking around, it would be hard to feel further away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
 
Environmental education is an essential part of the West London Academy’s curriculum.  Many of their students live in the city centre and have limited access to gardens or other wildlife habitats.  The school are committed to developing this safe haven for their pupils to explore the natural world and experience a hands-on approach to learning about the environment.
 
Joanne Chodzko-Zajko, Family Learning Tutor at the West London Academy said, “It is important to us to make the most of the space we have available.  We’re lucky to have such extensive grounds but without the help of sponsoring companies like Version One, it would all just be wasteland.  Tree Appeal and their partners enable us to enhance our outdoor space and create something really special for our students.”