The Lord Mayor of Belfast has visited pupils from Springhill Primary School and celebrated their involvement in the city’s One Million Trees project.
The project aims to plant one million native trees across Belfast by 2035 in an effort to reduce carbon, improve air quality and support and enhance biodiversity.
Admiring the tree planting activities of the Primary 6 pupils, Councillor Tina Black said: “It has been an honour to meet these young, passionate, climate conscious pupils at Springhill Primary School.
“Together the pupils have planted over 350 saplings and helped transform their outside playground area in a short space of time. A new hazel hedge and a mix of native broadleaf trees including silver birch, hazel and wild cherry will now stand tall around the edges of the playground and become part of the school’s legacy for many years to come.”
The One Million Trees project is one of Council’s programmes to support climate adaptation across Belfast and forms a major part of the city’s Resilience Strategy which aims to transition Belfast to an inclusive zero emissions, climate-resilient economy within a generation.
The planting at Springhill Primary School is part of a wider school programme with Belfast One Million Trees project and the Education Authority.
Councillor Black added: “We know that planting one million trees in Belfast by 2035 is not going to be an easy task but it is achievable- especially as we begin to see interest and support from local schools and our younger generation.
“Almost 2000 trees have been planted by schools in Belfast with the support of the Education Authority since the project began in 2020 and with the news that more schools are set to join the project in September, this figure is set to get even bigger!”
Belfast One Million Trees was inspired by an original idea from the Belfast Metropolitan Residents Group and it is a collaboration between public, private and voluntary sector partners.
If your business, school or community group would like to get involved or you’d like more information about One Million Trees, please visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/onemilliontrees
