10000 Children - 10000 Trees - For You

It's November again, which for us is the most important time in the Andover Trees United calendar, that time of year when, thanks to your ongoing support and partnerships with local schools, we can continue our mission to provide a tree planting day for all Andover and Villages children. We can continue to show all our children and young people not only that caring for their environment matters, but that they can be the ones to help to make a difference.

We’re now into our second of three weeks of welcoming schools from across the Andover area to help plant the next chapter of the community woodland at Bury Hill Meadows. (There is a link below to the week one blog.) Every tree planted is part of a long-term legacy, helping young people connect with nature while building a healthier, greener future for everyone.

Here’s what just ONE day can achieve… Monday 17^th November, morning Session with Anton Junior School saw Year 3 pupils plant 110 trees, supported by:

• Students from Harrow Way
• Employees from Stannah
• Our amazing ATU volunteers

Those trees will absorb around 1,210kg of CO in their first year which is the same as: driving over 2,700 miles; charging around 160,000 smartphones and brewing more than 5,500 cups of coffee!

Fantastic teamwork from the pupils, who learned about planting, protecting young trees, and how woodlands help cool our planet.

The afternoon Session with Clatford CofE Primary saw Year 4 pupils plant a further 70 trees, helped by:

• Employees from Stannah
• Gary & Geoff from Anton Rotary
• Our brilliant ATU volunteers

These trees will absorb around 770kg of CO in the first year which is the equivalent of: driving over 1,700 miles and charging more than 100,000 phones!

A huge thank you to the schools, teachers, pupils, volunteers, Rotary members, Harrow Way students and Stannah employees who made the day such a success.

And just like that, Week 2 is underway!

More planting every day until the 28^th, by which time 1000 children and young people aged 6-18 from 25 schools and colleges will have planted 1500 trees, supported by their teachers, employees from 11 local businesses and the amazing volunteer team from Andover Trees United, who give so generously of their time.

WHY THIS MATTERS… its more than the trees

For primary-aged children, learning outdoors is incredibly powerful. They:

• develop practical conservation and gardening skills
• gain confidence working as a team
• experience the joy of learning outside the classroom
• contribute to a living woodland they can return to for years to come

We hope that you enjoy the photographs that show some of our young people in action, as well as some of the many other activities that have brought 100s of children back to their wood over the past 4 months:

• planting out the wildflowers that they helped to raise from seed
• enjoying nature activities during school holidays
• specially designed ‘Learning about Nature through Art’ sessions for Andover Young Carers

It goes without saying, that your ongoing support helps make all this possible. THANK YOU!

Links:

• Nature Nurture News - learning about nature through art
• Children return disappearing wildflowers to the landscape
• Tree planting week one

Hello, everyone and welcome to our summer update. 

In this report, as well as sharing with you the work of our wonderful team as they continue to look after the wood, we are focussing on two of the young people who work with us - Hebe, our 2025 Ecology Intern and Youth Outreach Officer and Natalia, a member of our Youth Team and a true volunteer champion.

Hebe is an Ecology and Wildlife Conservation graduate with an interest in plants, environmental education, and practical conservation work. She is also passionate about horticulture and community gardens. Hebe joined the team in February and her original position - managing the annual data collection and reporting on the health of the wood - was extended in April to cover youth outreach and schools liason, essential to the charity's work to keep young people connected to the wood.

This is what Hebe had to say about her internship.

"I am excited to be the intern for 2025 at Andover Trees United. I’m looking forward to leading citizen science sessions, as I enjoy sharing nature with others. I am excited about gaining more experience in environmental education. In particular, I look forward to expanding my plant identification skills and developing my surveying skills. I am also looking forward to completing research and getting involved in practical conservation "

Natalia has been part of the Andover Trees Youth Team since 2021, regularly donating many volunteer hours to help run youth activities and support the intern. In April, we celebrated Earth Day—a reminder of our planet’s beauty and our shared duty to protect it. Fittingly, it was also the day Natalia began her work experience with ATU, during which she undertook a biodiversity survey of the pond, research that will help to guide future habitat management efforts.

Here’s what Natalia had to say about her journey with ATU. 

''I have been with ATU for nearly four years, having joined through the Nature in Harmony Exchange Project. Being at ATU has given me so many opportunities to work in a field of Youth Leading, giving kids an education while also having fun with crafts and I love seeing them grow through nature interaction. Volunteering with the Youth Academies and with the Intern has taught me so much knowledge that I am so grateful for and I cannot wait for my opportunities to work with likeminded people in the future.'' 

Both of these amazing young people have been central to the success of many of the charity's activities over the past four months, including:

Nature Explorers, school holiday activities in the wood devised and led by youth leaders Hebe, Natalia and Matt, managed and coordinated by volunteers Jolanta, Doreen and Wendy and local storyteller Amanda Kane-Smith. (Link below)

Sow Grow Plant, an annual project involving the general public and several hundred school children in sowing, pricking out and potting up wildflowers. 

Green Week, the UK’s biggest celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature, which this year brought together in the wood primary and secondary students from two local schools - Knights Enham Juniors and Harrow Way Community School.

Nature Nurture, a programme of nurturing nature activities in the wood for Andover Young Carers led by artist Liz Hammond, assisted by Hebe. (Link below)

Between the Barrows 2025, our annual community archaeological dig led by archaeologists Chris, Dom and Alex from Southampton University, which this year saw 50 adults and 100 children take part in an excavation to successfully uncover a Bronze Age ditch. (Link below)

And of course the regular work to care for the wood, carried out by our valued volunteer team, continued as usual. New signs have been installed, grass paths cut, trees and wildflowers nurtured, weekly nature surveys carried out and the annual beating up programme begun. 

In addition to this, a new woodland management office has been completed to provide a base for current and future interns and for Abbey, the charity's community engagement officer.

We finish this report by thanking you most sincerely for your support, which goes a long way to ensuring that we can continue to offer conservation and leisure activities for children and young people in the wood and provide opportunites for older youth in the form of internships and work experience.

Thank you.

Links:

• May Half-Term Holiday 'Nature Explorers'
• Nature Nurture for Andover Young Carers
• The Dig: Between the Barrows 2025