Recycle your Christmas Tree!

NEW trees have been planted at a primary school in Newark as part of a campaign to recycle used Christmas trees with the proceeds going towards new whips and saplings around the district.

Newark and Sherwood District Council run a tree recycling campaign collecting used real Christmas trees for a £5 fee with the money going towards a greener future.

Pupils from Chuter Ede Primary School, Fernwood joined staff from the District Council’s Environmental Services team and park volunteer George Smith, to plant eight new trees at the school site – comprising two Silver Birch, two Hazel, two Rowan and two Crab Apple trees – which will form a small school woodland in the future.

Pupils Poppy Tull and Jude Smith, both aged 10 (pictured) are two of several school ‘tree monitors’, with duties including weeding around the trees and keeping them watered in spring and summer months.

Jude Smith said: “It’s very exciting. We’re getting our own mini forest.”

Poppy Tull said: “We’re looking forward to seeing what birds and insects they attract.”

Councillor David Lloyd, Leader of the District Council, said: “Our last Christmas tree recycling campaign was a huge success with more than £1,500 raised for new trees like these. We are running the campaign again and I encourage anyone wanting to dispose of their tree to get involved now the festive season has come to an end.”

Donna Bentley, Teaching Assistant at Chuter Ede Primary School, Fernwood, said: “A big thank you to NSDC for coming to our school and planting the trees for us, this is such a great incentive to recycle your old Christmas trees. We can now look forward to watching the trees and our wildlife area flourish over the years. The children will enjoy being able to take part in more Forest School based activities.”

Used trees collected by the District Council are chipped and used for path surfacing if suitable, or as a mulch on shrub beds to keep weeds at bay.

Newark and Sherwood District Council will collecting your tree for a £5 fee. To book a collection go to:

www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/christmas/christmastreerecycling

Published January 2021