If you are a nature lover, then you will be excited to hear that Tree Day 2011 will take place on Thursday, 6th of October. This year the campaign has been given a complete makeover with the launch of a new website www.treeday.ie and the introduction of a new classroom friendly Tree Day mascot, Sammy Squirrel.
To mark this UN International Year of the Forest, the theme for Tree Day 2011 is ‘Celebrating our Friend the Tree’. On Tree Day, primary school teachers and children are being asked to celebrate the magic, beauty and importance of trees and forests in their communities and to recognise the wide usage of forest products in our everyday lives.
All Tree Day materials are being made available on a white board friendly, interactive website featuring Sammy Squirrel, where children can learn lots of fun facts and interesting information about tress and forests. The website, www.treeday.ie goes live from September and can be used as a classroom tool or source of information and inspiration for teachers in the run up to and on Tree Day.
To assist the teacher in class, lessons about trees are provided in Irish and English. These are complimentary to the science syllabus of the school curriculum and include practical activities such as how to plant a tree in a school milk carton and tips for helping the environment. Each year a different native tree is highlighted on Tree Day and this year the focus is on the cherry tree with an opportunity to win a cherry tree to plant in your school or community.
Sammy Squirrel will also appear on the back of all Avonmore School Milk cartons from September. Sammy will provide a number of on-pack Forest Facts to generate interest in trees in the classroom and to direct teachers and pupils to the Tree Day website for further education materials about trees.
On Tree Day, many schools can also take the opportunity to participate in guided woodland walks at various locations throughout the country, so children can go out and experience all that they have learned in class. The walks are organised in cooperation with Tree Council member organisations including the National Parks & Wildlife Service, Coillte, OPW and the Dublin local authorities.
You can log on to www.treeday.ie for more details and thank you for your support of Tree Day.
