Weston Coyney Schools Help Kickstart major campaign

Two Weston Coyney schools have become the first to help kickstart a major campaign to plant more trees.

Pupils from both Weston Infants Academy and Weston Junior Academy, within Weston Federation planted trees in their school grounds as part of a revolutionary project, which is being run by Stoke-on-Trent group Tree Radicals.

Tree Radicals – who are working in association with CounterCoin – want to work with schools and charities across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme and help make them the pillars of community, transforming their spaces with nature through community help.

To help start the #WheresYourTreeAt campaign internet service providers – Internet Central – who are based in Newcastle-under-Lyme sponsored 50 trees.

“We are really excited and grateful to be chosen to break ground with the TreeRadicals project and having a tree kindly donated for both our schools,” said Julie Birchall Principal at Weston Federation.

“We hope this will be the beginning of building on our relationships with the neighbourhood and community to create amazing natural green spaces in our school and community for the benefit that this will bring to all.”

Pupils ranging from years 3 to 11 helped to plant two trees in each of the school grounds on Thursday 21 November, along with members of Tree Radicals, Internet Central and CounterCoin.

Keziah Stott from Tree Radicals said:  “It’s great to see a local business such as Internet Central coming out to support our project and help local schools, and we would like to thank them for sponsoring our first 50 trees. This is a really exciting project we are doing in association with CounterCoin, and we are looking to plant as many trees as we can across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. We would like to thank Weston Infant Academy and Weston Junior Academy for being the first schools in Stoke-on-Trent to support this very exciting campaign. It was great to see the teachers and pupils being so enthusiastic and now they will continue to care for the trees which can be seen by all.”

Internet Central are a national B2B internet services provider based in Newcastle-under-Lyme who manage private networks, telephone systems and cyber security for a number of local and national businesses. With historic roots in the local community, the company were keen to help launch the green initiative to give back to their county and support outdoor education in schools.

A spokesperson for Internet Central – who signed up to the United Nations Global Compact last month – said: “Supporting a greener Stoke-on-Trent, for physical and mental health, is key to the sustainable development of our community. Working with local schools and charities by supplying 50 trees for planting in their outdoor spaces, is our first action as a signatory of the UN Global Compact. As we continue to take action in support of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, we encourage businesses across the county to take part to make our City greener and our communities richer and healthier for all.”

Tree Radicals welcome enquiries from anyone who would like to get involved in planting trees, or who would like to donate trees. More information can be found here treeradicals.org.uk

For more information about CounterCoin – a groundbreaking way of incentivising, recognising and rewarding acts that have a positive social impact within community – see here.

Anyone who wants to support the Tree Radicals project on social media is asked to use the hashtag #WheresYourTreeAt

Follow BabaBaboon on Twitter @BabaBaboon2017 to keep up-to-date with the Tree Radicals and CounterCoin.