Armagard, Graduate Planet & Waitrose working with Birmingham Schools

Under beautiful blue skies we welcomed the Lord Mayor of Birmingham to help 10 Little Sutton Primary School children to plant 15 city trees in Harvest Fields Park, Sutton Coldfield.

The tree planting event was organised by Birmingham Trees for Life, who are truly transforming Birmingham with their city tree planting projects. The trees will bring joy to the whole community, food and shelter for wildlife and it gave the local children confidence, some new skills and an education in environmental sustainability.

We were able to financially support this wonderful BTFL project thanks to Armagard Industries using Graduate Planet for their recruitment needs. Armagard are a Birmingham based, environmental enclosure specialist that protects computer equipment across 54 countries.

Graduate Planet donates over 50% of its profit, generated from recruitment services into a range of environmental initiatives from tree planting to educational talks in schools and this project combined both, which was truly wonderful to see.

We were joined by staff from Waitrose in Mere Green who came along to assist the younger planters, thanks to their funding from their in house Community 'disc' initiative.

Pupils worked hard planting the large trees scattered around the site, they learned about the different species of trees and how to plant them, they types food the trees will provide for birds and insects and all about Lichen. They were fascinated to know that trees were the same age as them and that they will last for the next 80 years, growing alongside them in their local park

The school has an entrance facing this area of parkland where some of the mature trees are reaching the end of their lives or were broken, so planting these trees is really important to ensure the succession of our green heritage. We also planted additional ones to further enhance the park, fifteen Ornamental Cherry, Rowan and Liquidambar trees were planted which will add colour through the seasons, and also provide a food source for bees and birds.

The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves; when children come to a tree planting, for some it is the first time they have planted a tree, and the proximity of the school to the park means that the children can take ‘ownership’ of the trees and keep an eye on them as they grow. Planting trees is particularly important in urban areas, to improve air quality and the visual environment.

After an active and educational morning we went to the wonderful Harvest Fields Centre where we were treated to hot drinks and biscuits.

In a year, an average tree can remove 1 ton of carbon dioxide from the air and produce enough oxygen for a family of four so that’s 15 families provided for and a great day for everyone.