The Eco-group were out on Wednesday 22^nd June planting some trees in the school grounds.  These were left over from a planting scheme that was recently conducted at Murray Park and were provided by the Woodland Trust.  The Eco-group have been working with a local ecologist, Nicky Penford, who has advised the pupils on which trees will help with biodiversity.  The pupils planted around 50 trees, an assortment of oak, aspen and birch.  Aspen is shown to have a lush undergrowth for biodiversity and can help with water retention.  Birch supports a wide variety of woodland plants, birds and mammals.  Oak trees support the highest biodiversity, in fact, around 2,300 species of plants and animals.  Planting these trees is just the start of a programme of tree planting and wild flower meadows to help support biodiversity at the school.  Nicky is already impressed with previous attempts to support biodiversity at the school, including the dense shrubs near the road and bus park and around the SUD (Sustainable drainage system) Scheme pond. The Eco-group plan to plant more trees in the Autumn, as well as supporting an S1 project to build bird and animal houses to encourage nesting.  While planting trees today, the pupils learned about some of the wild flowers growing in the top meadow above the Astro pitch and learned about some birds that are nesting there, including willow warblers and yellow hammers.