Last year's winner was Middleton in Teesdale Primary School with a project which involved Year 5 & 6 pupils examining the myths and magic around trees within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Sharing second prize were the North York Moors National Park, for a project which involved 13 primary schools and two secondary schools in saving the native juniper tree from extinction, and Heaton Children's Services (incorporating Heaton Primary School, Heaton Children's Centre, the Acorn Centre, and the Forest School in Bradford), which used school grounds as a resource for learning and teaching.
Prizes of £1000 for the winners and £500 for the runner up are on offer. The closing date for entries is noon on Monday March 8 and the winners will be presented with their prizes at the Bentley Weald Wood Fair in September.
As well as London boroughs south of the Thames, the competition covers West and East Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
The Royal Forestry Society has also developed a range of free woodland resources and an interactive Pancake Challenge game which focuses on managing woodlands to benefit plants, mammals, birds and insects. They are available to teachers and their pupils at www.rfs.org.uk - just follow the Learning and Woodland Discovery links.
As well a Schools Award, the Excellence in Forestry Awards include categories for Community Forestry, Multipurpose Woodland, Farm Woodlands and Silviculture.
Entry forms and further details are available from Competition Co-ordinator Trefor Thompson on tel: 01824 704230 or email rfscompetition@boyns.net . Details can also be downloaded from the RFS website on www.rfs.org.uk where details of last year's winners are also available.
