Islington Council

Norwegian students plant 350th tree on A1

Date: 06-Mar-06 by kitsy kinane


Islington Mayor Jonathan Dearth dug deep with Norwegian school students to plant the 350th tree in the A1 area.

The Mayor welcomed the Norwegian primary school students to Islington on their investigative trip checking out how our schools deal with environmental issues.

He said: 'I was delighted to help the students plant a Norwegian maple in Whittington Park as a symbol of the friendships made. This exchange visit has been extremely worthwhile in giving Islington students a unique opportunity to promote what they feel proud about in their Borough and at the same time learn from their Scandinavian neighbours'.

The year six students visited St Josephs School on Highgate Hill on March 1st and 2nd and gathered information on how we deal with litter, recycling and anti-social behaviour. They also assessed how the school and Islington create a clean, green and safe environment.

Cllr Bridget Fox, Lead Member for Sustainability said: 'This is something new for local kids - we're hoping this unique pilot project will encourage other schools to take part in similar exchanges and help us all tackle litter, recycling and anti-social behaviour even better in future.'

Planting 350 trees along Islington's main thoroughfare is part of Islington's overall plan for the A1 to make it cleaner, greener and safer. And by the end of March up to a thousand trees will have been planted in the borough this year alone.

The international exchange project was organised by the A1 Borough Schools Environmental Project, which is working with schools along the A1 to raise environmental and social awareness and encourage them to respect their school and wider environment

The Norwegian students were accompanied by Hanne Larsen, Head teacher and John Johansen, Leader of 33 schools in Oslo. At St Josephs school both Hanne and John discussed the different school systems with Bill Clark, Director of School Services and Maggie McNeill Islington's School Improvement Officer.


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Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008