Cuckfield school seeks funds to set up eco-initiative

Warden Park Secondary Academy is trying to raise the money between now and the new year to create a place where students can reconnect with nature.

Warden Park student and eco-lead Callum Greenyer said: “By planting trees around the school it benefits the students, creating an escape from the classroom and a space to appreciate nature and the environment.

“All the new trees will need protection from rabbits and deer in the form of guards and stakes, as well as fertiliser. We also need hired hands to help organise the space and replant some existing young oak trees into new areas, as well develop the former allotment area into a valuable outdoor learning resource we can be proud of.

“Students will be involved in redesigning the garden area and looking after all the trees, so there will be plenty of watering, tendering and project work to do.”

Last year, Ben Woods, English teacher and house coordinator at Warden Park, started a school eco-committee with the idea of raising awareness of the global climate crisis.

Since its inception, the school has seen a significant increase in recycling and interest in the environment.

Attached to the school is a large plot of land which, with the help of several members of staff, was partially cleared in 2019.

It had once been a thriving allotment area, used by both the school and the community for growing a variety of fruit and vegetables but over time it had been neglected and had become overgrown.

Seeing the potential for use, Mr Woods decided to re-establish the importance of an outside learning space and set up links to the local community.

There are now also plans to build a cabin that will take at least 35 seated as an alternative outdoor learning space for students and the community for evening/weekend environmental projects, geodomes for projects managed by the students including hydroponics, seedlings and potting, raised planting beds.

Mr Woods said: “We have a wonderful opportunity with so much space to be able to fill up with trees. It gives us an opportunity to engage the students and staff with the environment around them.

“We’re looking to raise money so we can introduce more trees onto the site, especially fruit trees.”

The trees the school want to plant include cherry, apple, pear, lime, hazel and chestnut, and the school plans to plant more than 1,000 in total.

Many of the trees have been chosen to encourage biodiversity.

The school and Tree Action have until Monday, January 4 to raise the £7,000 needed for the project, and all funds raised will be matched by M&S Energy. So far, more than £5,000 has been raised.

Rewards for support include sponsoring a tree and naming it after a person or business, a student-designed thank-you card, and tea and cake and a tour of tree planting sites. Visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/tree-action-uk