Children from two local schools took part in a special tree-planting event on Thursday in Killyleagh. The P7 classes from Killyleagh Integrated Primary School and St Mary’s Primary School joined together to plant a total of 22 trees at their respective schools as a way to help the environment and to mark their final year in primary school.
“Mr McFerran (KIPS) and Mr Morgan (St Mary’s) and their P7 classes joined us at the Bridge Centre yesterday to view the trees we had recently planted and to learn a little bit about the important part trees play in our environment,” Ann Fee of the Killyleagh Geopark Ambassadors said on Friday.
“We acquired 22 trees in total, one for each P7 pupil, then we went to St Mary’s to start planting. When we had completed the planting at St Mary’s, we all walked to Killyleagh Integrated Primary School, trees and spades in hand, for their P7 leavers to complete the planting.” Ann said it was “a thoroughly successful day.”
“Each child planted their own tree, the sun shone, and the children thoroughly enjoyed the occasion,” she added. The idea for the project came after a P7 student from Killyleagh Integrated attended a tree-planting session held by the Ambassadors and Killyleagh Plant Share Group at the end of February at the Bridge Community Centre.
“Geopark Ambassadors recently held a tree-planting session and Jonah, one of the young volunteers, thought it would be a good idea for all this year’s P7 leavers to plant a tree in their respective school grounds as a living memento of their time there,” Ann said. “Both local schools, St Mary’s PS and Killyleagh Integrated PS, have embraced his idea.”
The Killyleagh Geopark Ambassadors are a subgroup of the Killyleagh Community Association and are based at the Bridge Community Centre. They provide local people with the information and confidence to be involved with delivering environmental outreach projects in their community.
The children were assisted in their tree-planting endeavour by the Phantom Planter, who made a surprise visit to the Bridge Community Centre with his dog Betty. The Phantom Planter is an environmental enthusiast who plants trees and other plants around Northern Ireland. In photos, he is often seen wearing a Guy Fawkes mask to conceal his identity.
The Phantom Planter posted about the event on his website, saying he took part because Ann, whom he knew from the Killyleagh Coastal Rowing Club, asked him to do so. “This is not something I usually do, to be honest, but I couldn’t say no to the lady that asked me. For years, this lady was our coastal rowing chairperson, back when I used to do a bit of rowing myself,” he wrote.
“As I said, I don’t do these types of things, really takes me out of my comfort zone, but I had to make an exception on this occasion. Was a great wee morning though, and the kids were amazing!” He also challenged others to get involved with planting their own trees: “I challenge you to phantom plant a tree,” he wrote.
St Mary’s Primary School principal Fiona Martin said that her school’s eight P7 children took part in “this wonderful project” with the children from Killyleagh Integrated, both of which are Shared Education Partnership schools. “The P7 leavers from both schools have created a lasting legacy of caring for their local environment — a meaningful way to leave their mark,” she said.
“We were also delighted by a special visit from the famous Phantom Planter, which added even more excitement to the day! We hope this becomes an annual tradition, inspiring future pupils to keep nurturing and celebrating our beautiful community,” Ms Martin added.
Killyleagh Integrated Primary School P7 teacher Matthew McFerran said that the 14 children from his school enjoyed taking part in the event alongside the children from St Mary’s. “It was great to get the children out of the classroom to learn together about something so important for the environment,” he said. “The pupils were especially excited to meet the Phantom Planter and to have his help during the planting.”
“One of our own pupils, Jonah, is very enthusiastic about caring for the environment and has already taken part in other local tree-planting initiatives. It was actually his idea to do something similar at the school. We are hopeful that we can continue to plant more trees each year, and we look forward to future pupils enjoying the benefits of having a small forest on our school grounds,” Mr McFerran said.
This tree-planting event was the first time that the Killyleagh Geopark Ambassadors had been involved with the local schools. “This is our first one and hopefully it will be the first of many,” Ann said. She added that they have already spoken to the local Men’s Shed about a second environmental event involving the local schoolchildren.
“We hope to have a follow-up visit to the Killyleagh Men’s Shed’s new polytunnel to learn how to propagate seeds. We hope to start with P7s, and if the children enjoy it, we will roll it out to younger children,” Ann said.
Ann said that the Killyleagh Geopark Ambassadors would like to thank everyone who took part in the tree-planting and made it possible, as it is important to plant more trees in Killyleagh. “The area was formerly known as The Parke and was highly forested. It was the hunting ground for Con O’Neill, an Irish chieftain, and is depicted as such in the Raven Maps, which are held at the Bangor Museum. We are hoping to plant as many native trees as possible to support our ecosystem,” she said.
She also noted “an interesting discovery” about the enduring nature of trees when she and a fellow Geopark Ambassador visited St Mary’s in advance of the planting. “The current school secretary also attended the school and, whilst she was showing us around the school grounds to identify a suitable tree-planting site, she mentioned that she and her fellow pupils planted trees over 40 years ago and they are still there for everyone to enjoy today.”
