TREES are being nurtured by children at a Worcester school thanks to a £500 grant.

St George’s Catholic Primary School on Thorneloe Walk, Barbourne, will be growing 25 ash saplings and 25 oak saplings, which will be transplanted later into the Worcestershire countryside.

The tree nursery scheme is a national programme that encourages children to get involved in the cultivation and distribution of native British trees.

The school received the grant from the scheme to build raised beds, buy gardening equipment and find partners to take the saplings once they have grown on. Headteacher Michael Painter said: “The aim is to raise awareness of the importance of trees in our environment and the need to preserve native species.

“Pupils use the skills they develop in tending the trees to care for the trees within the school grounds and to develop a greater understanding of the importance of trees within the environment. There are three key nursery workers who lead the work around school and they love the responsibilities that they have been given.

“St George’s, as an ecoschool, prides itself on stimulating a love of nature and a appreciation of the local environment,” he said.