Meath events on Tree Day
The Tree Council of Ireland, supported by Tetra Pak, is delighted to launch Tree Day 2013 themed 'Show a little aTREEciation‘, which will take place on Thursday 10th October. On Tree Day, schools and families are invited to explore and appreciate all that nature has to offer and the important role that trees play in our lives. The theme for this year is “Show a little Atreeciation for trees' or ‘'Bí mór le crann mór'. Through this campaign, children will learn how trees can help the environment, how they improve the air we breathe, how essential they are for birds and other wildlife and, overall, how important it is to plant a tree.
The official Tree Day website and primary school resource www.treeday.ie has been updated with lots of new material offering a comprehensive resource to help teachers and parents to bring Tree Day into the classroom and the home. On Tree Day, many schools also take the opportunity to participate in guided tree and woodland walks at various locations throughout the country, enabling children to connect directly with nature in an enjoyable way. See details below for the local walks.*
The website, guided by its mascot Sammy Squirrel, features interactive, curriculum-based lessons for the classroom in both Irish and English. The website includes Tree Day school projects, poster downloads, word games, colouring pages and provides a host of other information for schools and families on woodland walks, tips for helping the environment, a guide to Our Native Trees, simple instructions for growing a tree in a school milk carton, and much more. Each year a different native tree is celebrated on Tree Day and this year the spotlight is on the hawthorn tree with all information and details on the website.
One of the main aims of Tree Day is to educate primary school children about the importance of trees and forests in their everyday lives. To tie in with this year’s theme of 'Show a little aTREEciation‘, a series of seven ‘Tree Tweets’ have been created, each containing environmental messages for children. These ‘Tweets’, each of which will be carried on the school milk cartons, will serve to remind children and adults alike about the importance of respecting, renewing, recycling, replanting, repairing and rejoicing in the many resources made from trees.
Éanna Ní Lamhna, President of the Tree Council of Ireland said: “The Tree Council of Ireland is delighted to announce Tree Day 2013 supported again by Tetra Pak. Since last year’s event, we have spoken to many teachers to make sure that we are still delivering Tree Day in the best way possible for teachers. Following feedback, we have kept the class lessons simple and consistent with the curriculum and have included fun puzzles and activities for children. Over the years, teachers and parents have been enormously co-operative and enthusiastic about Tree Day and we are very grateful for that. We look forward to another Tree Day with similar enthusiasm and commitment.”
Deborah Ryan, Marketing Manager for Tetra Pak Ireland said: “Tetra Pak has been supporting Tree Day for 10 years running. We're really proud of the fact that 7 environmental messages about trees will be appearing on 1 million Tetra Pak cartons of Avonmore school milk going into primary schools across the country again this year. As well as encouraging an appreciation for trees, this campaign is all about re-enforcing environmental messages that are close to our heart at Tetra Pak, such as the importance of recycling, sustainable forestry and using renewable resources'.
The Tree Council of Ireland is proud to continue this important aspect of environmental education and is urging the people to get involved and celebrate Tree Day on Thursday 10th October.
Meath Walks
Where: Balrath Wood, Meath
Contact: Elizabeth McArdle, mcgovernhouse@eircom.net
Where: Dalgan Park, Navan, Meath
Contact: Ger Clarke, 046-902 1525