Heage School Kids Dig In For Derbyshire's Heartwood Community Forest
School pupils at Heage Primary School took the classroom outdoors on Friday to plant hundreds of trees on their fields as part of Derbyshire’s Heartwood Community Forest.
PUT DOWN ROOTS: Councillor Wood, back row on right, pictured with pupils at Heage Primary School, Derbyshire County Council woodland creation officer Iaian Stafford and Caroline Clark, sustainability Lead at the school.
Every child carefully planted a tree, from English oak to birch, aspen and wild cherry, to create an extended forest school area, in addition to dozens of fruit trees that have been planted to create a new orchard to provide food for the school and new learning opportunities.
The new trees will also provide new habitats to support a wealth of suburban wildlife from songbirds and small mammals to bees and other pollinators, bringing pupils into daily contact with nature and helping them to learn and appreciate their local environment.
Caroline Clark, Heage Primary School sustainability lead, said: “The support we’ve had from Derbyshire’s Heartwood Community Forest has been amazing. We had some land that wasn’t being used and their team helped draw up a fantastic planting scheme, organised all the trees and helped with planting, all for free!
“We’ve had such a wonderful time getting all the children involved - they’ve loved planting, giving their trees a name and wishing them good luck. And this is only the start - these trees will bring us so many benefits as a school in the future too, it’s amazing.”
Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Net Zero and Environment Councillor Carol Wood said: “Derbyshire’s Heartwood Community Forest is all about supporting enthusiastic communities like Heage Primary School to improve their area and enhance health and wellbeing, and this project just goes to show how much can be achieved with even the smallest area of land.
“Every new tree planted helps to strengthen Derbyshire’s natural environment, support wildlife and improve the places where people live – backing our commitment to ensuring our communities are great places to live and work.”
Derbyshire’s Heartwood Community Forest, funded by the Government and led by Derbyshire County Council, aims to increase tree cover across eastern, north eastern and southern Derbyshire and Derby and offers government-funded grants for woodland creation, hedgerow planting and ongoing maintenance for up to 15 years.
Schools, landowners, farmers, and community groups can apply online. For more information visit www.derbyshire.gov.uk/heartwood
More News From Amber Valley Info
| Opticians celebrates 20 years in Belper The team at a Belper opticians have celebrated their 20th anniversary with a special event and a fundraising raffle. read more | |
| Nature groups unite to support wildlife and green spaces across Amber Valley Local nature groups, organisations and councillors came together for the latest Amber Valley Nature Netw read more | |
| Dispelling Myths - Count Yourself In To Foster People are being urged to count themselves in to provide a safe and supportive home for Derbyshire children and young people. read more | |
| Easter Bunny Returns to Swanwick with Egg Trail, Gifts for Children and Free Cuppa for Adults Families are invited to celebrate Easter at Swanwick Junction as the Easter Bunny retur read more | |
| Tree planting gathers pace as Derbyshire's Heartwood Community Forest branches out Thousands of trees are being planted across Derbyshire now the second planting season of the count read more | |
The Amber Valley Info Noticeboard
| Food waste recycling is coming to Amber Valley From June 2026, Amber Valley Borough Council will introduce weekly food waste recycling across the borough as part of a phased roll-ou read more | |
| Stallholder Bookings Now Open For The Tansley Big Day Out We're excited to announce that Tansley's Big Day Out 2026 will take place on 6th & 7th June 2026! read more | |
| Christmas and New Year bin collection dates Over the festive season, bin collections will operate on revised schedules. Some collections may take place up to two days earlier than u read more | |
| Launch Of WOMBLE MANIA! At the Heights of Abraham, Opened by Marcus Robertson, Son of Wombles author, Elisabeth Beresford, officially launched WOMBLE MANIA! at the Heights of Abraha read more | |
| Belper School and Sixth Form Centre Closed Today Due to a significant water leak, resulting in the water being turned off at school, we unfortunately have to close the school today. read more | |
