18 June 2010
Pupils at 14 schools across Devon have helped plant hundreds of trees in the county for Green Britain Day.
Employees from EDF Energy in Exeter and Plymouth joined pupils and teachers to plant saplings at schools in and around Plymouth, Exeter and Okehampton.
Green Britain Day is a day of celebration for Team Green Britain, a growing movement of hundreds of thousands of people and groups brought together by EDF Energy, through a shared commitment to lowering Britain’s carbon footprint.
Sarah Parke, a teacher at Rockbeare Primary School in East Devon, one of those involved, said: “It went really well. Eighteen pupils helped plant the trees and they created a pattern – a walkway down the side of our field, then a curved line of trees for a space that our Forest Club will use. We are working really hard on our outside areas so when this opportunity came along to join up with EDF Energy and Green Britain Day we jumped at it.”
Hornbeam, oak, hawthorn and wild cherry saplings have been planted at Ernesettle Community School in Plymouth, St Andrew's Primary School in Buckland Monachorum, Landulph, St German's and St Stephen’s primary schools in Saltash, Bassetts-Farm and Marpool primary schools in Exmouth, Doddiscombsleigh Primary School in the Teign Valley, Feniton Primary School in Honiton, Okehampton College and Okehampton Primary School, Rockbeare Primary School in Exeter, Topsham Primary School (at the nearby Highfield Farm kitchen garden) near Exeter, Tedburn St Mary School and Willand First School near Cullompton.
Meanwhile, EDF Energy employees have also been celebrating Green Britain Day at the company’s three Devon offices in Exeter and Plymouth, with sustainable lunches, home-grown produce sales, accessories swaps, ‘dress your veg’ competitions, collections of donated goods for Barnardo’s, car-sharing and cycling to work. Exeter City Council teamed up with the company to provide information on recycling and composting.
Steve Hayfield, EDF Energy’s Customer Services Director, said: “Green Britain Day continues to grow, with many more people and schools involved this year, which is fantastic. Hopefully, their efforts will inspire others to join us and do their bit to become more sustainable.”
ENDS
For more information please contact Dan Pritchard on 01392 813783 in the EDF Energy press office.
Notes to editors
Team Green Britain was kicked off by EDF Energy, the UK’s largest producer of low carbon electricity, in partnership with London 2012, the Eden Project, Global Action Plan, and Eco-Schools. It is a growing group of people all across Britain doing what they can to reduce their carbon footprint by changing their lives in ways which are better for them and the environment.
Green Britain Day is a day each year where schools, communities, businesses and other motivated people showcase and celebrate what the Team are doing as an inspiration to the rest of the country to join us. This year, Green Britain Day is on June 17.
Through Our Sustainability Commitments, EDF Energy has launched the biggest environmental programme to tackle climate change of any UK energy company. In these commitments, we have pledged to reduce the intensity of carbon emissions from our power plants by 60% and to lower the proportion of carbon arising from our customers’ energy consumption by 15% by 2020.
As well as reducing the carbon intensity of our emissions, EDF Energy has a social and ethical responsibility to encourage the next generation of environmental guardians to take action against climate change. This is why EDF Energy has worked with Eco-Schools to set up “the Pod”, which aims to educate 2.5 million school children about sustainable living by 2012.
For information about Team Green Britain go to www.teamgreenbritain.org and the Pod www.jointhepod.org
