RFS Competition Co-ordinator, Trefor Thompson, said: “Schools do not need to own or manage their own woodlands to take part. There is huge variety of work being undertaken in primary and secondary schools across the curriculum, in the form of classroom projects, art work, story telling or in hands-on field study work, relating to the very many different aspects of woodland management and to the uses that wood can play in our lives. This is an opportunity for schools to showcase the work of their teachers and their pupils and to develop stronger links to forestry and woodland management.”
The closing date for entries is noon on Tuesday March 9 and the winners will be presented with their prizes at the Bentley Weald Wood Fair in September.
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.
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. A free CD Rom of the Pancake Challenge is also be available for all primary schools that enter and can be claimed via the on-line application pages www.rfs.org.uk/involved/schools-award
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.
