A Step by Step Guide to Engaging Your Local School in the Woodland Trust's Tree for All Project – the ‘Hands Off’ Version
To make this guide to contacting schools realistic, we ran trials at
schools with whom we'd had no previous contact, to show you that even if you
don’t know the school, it's easy!
Step 1 - Contact the School
Ask who you should speak to about helping
the school to plant some trees for FREE. This is easy if your child
attends the school; just ask their teacher who to talk to about
planting trees for free in their grounds.
If you don’t know who to
talk to, phone the school and talk to the receptionist. Their attitude
to talking to people can vary hugely! If the response isn’t warm at
first, don’t be put off; tell them your name, explain that you are involved in promoting a scheme organised by the Woodland Trust that supports schools in planting trees in their grounds, for free, and you would like to know who best to speak to would be. It
may be the head teacher or the person who runs the school gardening or
science club.
In my experience they all welcome you as soon as they know
you want to help their school and it's free!
Step 2 - Talk to the Relevant Person
Talk to the relevant teacher or staff member who is interested in the
tree planting project. Ask them if they have heard about the Woodland
Trusts ‘Tree For All’ project. Tell them about it. Explain that it
is a free project which enables schools to get a pack of 30 trees
or 30 hedge trees, which they can plant in their grounds.
Tell them it is easy to apply and give them the website details.
Tell them about the free downloadable tree
planting advice leaflets and teaching resources the Woodland Trust
provides. For information on the scheme check out:
http://www.treeforall.org.uk/JoinIn/AsASchool/.
We have provided an example letter here, that you can use should you wish, if you would prefer to make initial contact by letter instead of by telephone. We'd recommend you call first though, just to find out the best person to address the letter to.
Step 3 - After One Week - Phone the School Again
Ensure you call at the best time for the teachers; before 8.50am,
during breaks, lunchtime or after schools is usually best. Ask for
the teacher you have already spoken to, be friendly and enthusiastic,
ask them how they got on with the application. Ask if the teacher has
had chance to look at the website yet. Have the website details to
hand and be prepared to give them the address again in case they have lost
it.
The school may need to get the permission of the school governors,
which may take time because they don’t meet very often. Put your
suggestion in writing so the relevant teacher can present the idea to
the governors.
Step 4 - One Week Later Call Back Again
Repeat until the teacher tells you that they have applied!
Step 5 - In Early November, Call the School
Ask to speak to the relevant teacher and remind them the trees will be
arriving soon. Make sure they have your contact details and ask them
to let you know when the trees arrive.
When the trees arrive in November, write to us at The Druid
Network and let us know all about it.
