School children throughout England will this autumn plant 300,000 new tree saplings in the latest instalment of a plan which has given the nation 1.5million new trees and miles of hedgerow.

This is the result of just six years of work by the Woodland Trust and financed by the supermarket group Sainsbury’s, one of the most successful campaigns ever aimed at getting youngsters involved in the environment.

The saplings have gone into school grounds, local parks and other public spaces – but one oft he most important results has been the planting of new hedgerows. The “grubbing out” of hedgerows to make larger fields for farm machinery in the last century was a disaster for wildlife like song birds, small mammals, rare plants and many species of insects.

Paul Bunton, the trust’s community project manger, said: “The Trust’s hedge and copse packs have proved a huge success with schools and youth groups from day one and this year, thanks to Sainsbury’s, we have been oversubscribed with applications from them.

“They are the perfect way for young people to learn about the local environment and how they can support and nurture it from an early age – and continue to do so for the rest of their lives. The packs are also supported by free online planting guides and curriculum linked resources.”

The free packs contain either thirty native hedge trees including; hawthorn, hazel, holly, dog rose and dogwood, or thirty native copse trees including; birch, rowan and wild cherry.