Following a few busy months of fundraising for supported charities in the run up to Christmas, the new year has brought Retford Rotary Club a moment to reflect on another area of work that benefits local communities. The Club has been very keen to positively impact the environment by providing trees to be planted around the locality across various projects.
Over the last 15 months, the Club has donated a fruit tree to each of 11 local schools to mark their involvement in RotaKids.
The schools involved are Beckingham Primary School, Bracken Lane Primary Academy, Carr Hill Primary School, East Markham Primary School, Everton Primary School, Orchard School, Ranby House, Ranskill Primary School, Sturton-Le-Steeple C of E Primary School, Thrumpton Primary Academy and Rampton Primary School. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School also received a tree as acknowledgement of their service to the community.
Some of the initiatives the schools have been involved with include looking at how to reduce plastic waste, supporting the AquaBox project and organising and participating in litter picks within their community. The children did a great job of planting their trees and are now looking after them and awaiting some fruits from their labours.
RotaKids is a fun and exciting way for young children to get involved with voluntary community, environmental and international activities, all while having a great time in the process. RotaKids clubs are based in primary schools, and with the help and support from teaching staff and the local Rotary club, children can gain valuable experience in helping others and learning interesting new things.
The club recognises that many local schools are already involved in many other activities that help others and the Rotary Club of Retford wishes to help schools in their endeavours and support their initiatives.
In addition to the fruit trees in schools, the Club has provided young trees (known as ‘whips’) to Babworth Crematorium, Retford Golf Club and Dunham on Trent village. The trees donated to Dunham will be part of their meadow rewilding project. The children in the village will be planting the whips and each child will have their own tree.
Members of the Club are looking forward to seeing how all the trees grow over the coming years.