Who We Are
Tree Action is a not-for-profit volunteer led organisation in Sussex set up a few years ago to deliver and organise tree planting and maintenance projects for schools and communities - www.treeactionuk.org
We engage young people and their families with the projects we have developed on public land given to us to plant trees by local authorities, and we also organise projects for schools so that their students can become part of tackling climate change whilst connecting with the environment as they learn about sustainability.
We are currently fifteen regular part-time volunteers handling all admin planning and conservation including a volunteer forest school team leader, an arborist, a teacher, a part-time marketing officer, a number of graduates and masters student volunteers. On top of that we get support and guidance from the local council's environmental team.
What We've Done So Far
We started by planting over 100 trees in the Shoreham by Sea and Southwick areas of West Sussex with the help of local volunteers. We then turned our attention to schools. We've now worked with 5 schools, two secondary academies and three primary schools, helping them to plan and co-ordinate tree planting projects, and in one case we worked with Warden Park Academy in Cuckfield through the lockdown period to successfully crowdfund and plan for their project which involves planting 57 trees and developing a community garden at the rear of the school.
"This is a brilliant project not only for the students at Warden Park but for the environment too." - E. Rudden, supporter.
Photos Above: Students of Warden Park Academy potting some self seeded oaks to raise funds for more trees. Below: Year 6 Students of Buckingham Park Primary School planting saplings at their local park. Different classes have been revisiting the trees to remove any weeds and add mulch to suppress weeds and help the trees establish.
The Assistant Head at Buckingham Park Primary School said in a statement to the local press after a tree planting event that some of the students had never planted anything in their lives, and many of them were raving about their experience afterwards.
We then started to deliver two further projects on the grounds of Buckingham Park Primary school in Shoreham by Sea December 2021 where we planted 22 trees including Plums, Silver Birches, an Indian Bean trees, a Liquid amber and five pear trees, with a further 38 trees being planted there by us this year, and at Eastbrook Primary Academy where all the students got involved in planting Lime Trees, Silver Birches and Oak trees. At Eastbrook a sustainable watering solution is needed so the school doesnt have to pay for watering the trees, as well as paying for their wish list of tools including watering cans for the students to water their trees with.
Top: Students from Eastbrook Primary Academy planting Silver Birch trees on their school grounds. Bottom: Map showing locations for all trees in the plan for Buckingham Park Primary School which includes Hawthorn, Cherry, Hazel, Rowan and Pear, an Indian bean tree, liquid amber and a walnut tree.
Every class at both schools is now involved in weeding and caring for their trees in line with the maintenance plan we provided. Each class has a tree or group of trees that the school have told them they are responsible for from the time they join the school, to the time they will leave. The schools tell us the students are so excited when its their turn to get outdoors to look after their trees!
What We Want To Do Now
We're raising funds for 20 new trees at Woodgate Primary Academy grounds all the students who participate in their forest school activities can have their own small forest to look after!
The plan includes a mixture of fruit and woodland trees which will also add to the biodiversity of the area. They will all be established standards or half standards, with stakes and guards to protect them.
The trees will be UK native trees sourced from reputable tree nurseries. As they will be fairly mature and tall, they will be less vulnerable to damage and will also make an immediate impact both in appearance and adding biodiversity to the area.
As a not for profit organisation with limited funds we are also raising money to help pay for a trust and grants fundraiser who can work with us part-time to raise even more to help us scale, support more school tree projects and employ a team. This will also help us pay for contractors to do ad hoc work on school projects when we cannot find people who can offer their time for free. The funds raised are intended to help us to achieve this as well deliver this new project at Woodgate Primary.
70% of the funds raised will pay for the trees at accessories needed for Woodgate Primary Academy's project, 30% of the funds raised will go towards helping TreeAction deliver future schools projects in Sussex.