Wellacre Supports City of Trees

Posted at 9:06 am on 15th July, 2021

Students Help in Local Woodland Project

Wellacre students are supporting the City of Trees community project, coordinated by Veolia Environmental Trust and Trafford Council. As a local school, Wellacre responded to the invitation to get involved in the project’s habitat enhancements through woodland management, wildflower planting, grassland management and invasive species control, all of which are of vital importance as part of the ‘Nature Recovery’ agenda. 

     

Over a period of weeks, students will be attending Wellacre Country Park to help out with woodland management and increase their forest skills and knowledge.

In the first session, students spent a morning with the project team studying habitats in Wellacre Country Park, including grassland, shrubland and woodland. They also looked at environment succession. 

     

Using keys and identification charts, they classified local flora and trees as well as using butterfly nets to catch and identify insect life.  

The visit ended with the students clearing non-native invasive species (such as Himalayn Balsam) in order to promote the development of the tree plantings by City of Trees to develop a wildlife corridor and enhance the local environment.

Mr Toogood, Leader of Science, said:

"By supporting the City of Trees project, Wellacre boys will not only broaden their scientific knowledge but will also have an opportunity to see firsthand the beautiful habitats we have on our own doorstep, which we need to protect and nurture.  It is fantastic to see the ‘sense of community' our students display when they are involved with projects, such as these, and are able to give something back to their local area."

On twitter, City of Trees said:

“We had a brilliant day with Year 9 pupils from Wellacre who learnt about ecological succession on Green Hill. They also helped us to clear some invasive Himalayan Balsam.  Thanks for all of their hard work!”

As part of the Trafford Countryside Management Partnership, City of Trees have secured funding from Veolia Environmental Trust, matched by council funding, to implement a number of improvements at the park.  Work will include improvements to footpaths, habitats and signage at Trafford’s beautiful Wellacre Country Park. 

Mrs Sharrock, Principal, adds:

“When contacted by the City of Trees, I was keen to develop the partnership with them as it is a fantastic opportunity for our students, whilst benefiting the local community.  This is a link that we are eager to sustain in the future.”