TYCOON’S GREAT GREEN GIFT
COULD YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL BE TRANSFORMED LIKE THESE ONES?
£100k to plant orchards at 1,000 schools in huge boost for the Mail’s tree campaign
A THOUSAND schools are set to grow orchards thanks to a £100,000 gift to the Daily Mail’s Be A Tree Angel campaign by a top philanthropist.
The gift from Richard Caring, chairman of restaurant group Caprice Holdings, which includes The Ivy chain, will fund the scheme.
Trees are needed more than ever across Britain – especially in schools. By planting trees, pupils will learn how they help to keep the world alive by cleaning air and locking away the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide which is threatening the future of children worldwide.
As the Mail has highlighted, tens of thousands of mature trees in urban areas are being cut down across the UK and are often not replaced. It is estimated that 6,500 schools educating 2.6million children are in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution, with much of it caused by cars.
Children are particularly vulnerable. Research shows they are exposed to pollution on the way to school – while their airways and lungs are still developing. Trees and hedgerows can act as barriers around schools, filtering out pollution.
The Be A Tree Angel campaign, organised with the Mail’s Christmas charity partner, The Tree Council, has urged readers to plant trees, or to donate money or nectar points towards the effort.
More than 35,000 trees have been planted or pledged since the campaign was launched on November 23. The Mail has given away thousands of trees including oak, holly, willow and birch.
The Government, the Committee on Climate Change, scientists and environmentalists all agree that increasing tree cover is vital.
Just 13 per cent of Britain is woodland compared to more than 35 per cent on average in Europe.
Trees also help to keep towns and cities cool, prevent flooding by soaking up water and provide a home for birds, insects and other wildlife. Mr Caring, 71, who grew up in Finchley, north London, said he delighted in climbing trees as a boy but when he went back to where he once gathered conkers, there were none to be seen.
Writing for the Mail, he said it saddens him when he ‘passes schools every day on my way to work that are surrounded by concrete, with not a tree in sight’.
He added: ‘Sadly, many schools are in areas with dangerous levels of pollution, but trees act as natural filters’. Aware that his restaurant business has a carbon footprint, Mr Caring said the donation was a way to give something back and encourage children to think about the planet. Campaign backers include Boris Johnson and celebrities such as Joanna Lumley, Ben Fogle and Jilly Cooper.
Other supporters include the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the National Trust and the Woodland Trust.
Sara Lom, of The Tree Council said: ‘We’re enormously grateful to Richard Caring for his amazing gift to plant 1,000 orchards in 1,000 schools. In future years, thanks to his generosity, hundreds of thousands of children will connect with...the natural world. The trees will also provide precious springtime nectar for early pollinators. We can all play our part in helping create a tree-filled future and Richard’s generosity will inspire others to plant and care for trees – whether it be a single oak grown from seed or orchards that burst into blossom across the nation.’
Rory Stewart, former environment minister and now mayoral candidate for London, said: ‘This is an amazing initiative from the Daily Mail and an amazing gift from Richard Caring.
‘Nothing can be more important than trees. They are great for air quality in London, for wildlife, and for the climate. We should be planning millions more trees in London and involving children in that process.’ The Government’s ‘Tree Champion’, Sir William Worsley said: ‘Trees are vital to the health of our planet and our well-being. It is great to see the Daily Mail’s 1,000 orchards for 1,000 schools campaign opening up and improving the natural environment for young people.
‘Through this campaign and Defra’s Trees for Schools programme, delivered with the Woodland Trust and Community Forest Trust, we are giving hundreds of thousands more children the chance to get up close and personal with nature.’