CHILDREN in Warwick district and in Sierra Leone have been planting trees as part of a joint project to celebrate 40 years of friendship between the two communities.
Youngsters in local primary schools – including Brookhurst in Leamington, All Saints’ Juniors in Warwick, St Margaret’s and St Joseph’s in Whitnash – have planted trees as part of a joint Climate Action project with their partner schools in the city of Bo in the West African country.
Their link partnership is part of One World Link (OWL) – the community, friendship organisation which has linked Warwick district and Bo for 40 years.
Leamington Town Council sponsored the tree planting in Bo and more than 200 trees have been planted in total – some at each of the link schools and some on community land owned by OWL in Bo.
The children’s’ project work focused on the importance of trees for a sustainable future. Pupils were inspired by the work of Wangari Maarthi, Kenyan environmentalist and activist, reading a book about her life – Trees of Peace.
Liz Garrett, OWL schools’ coordinator and teacher said: “Children are passionate about protecting wildlife and nature and have been so enthusiastic about tree planting. One boy even donated the sycamore sapling he’d grown from seed during lockdown – it’s now growing on our field.”
Leamington mayor Nick Wilkins added: “Engaging with children around the globe could not come at a more critical time with climate change on the rise. We are proud of our links with Bo, and our planting projects is just one, that has bound us in friendship for 40 years.”
