The adorable reason children are planting 5,000 trees across Sheffield

They are being encouraged to plant and nurture the trees to bring them closer to nature and help them play a hands-on role in protecting the future of their planet.

Kids Plant Trees was set up by parents who wanted to play their part as families in what they call the ‘big climate fightback’.

The first 700 trees were planted during a launch event, on Saturday, January 18, at Manor Park Playing Field, on Saxonlea Avenue, where another big planting session is planned this Saturday, January 25.

The project’s founders aim to plant 5,000 trees over the next year and, after working with Sheffield Council and park friends groups around the city to identify potential sites, have appealed for people to get in touch with suggestions of where else they could be located, from fields to families’ back gardens.

They are also particularly keen to hear from schools which would like trees to be planted on their grounds.

They have received hundreds of free trees from the Woodland Trust and through OVO Energy’s I Dig Trees initiative, but they are trying to raise £12,000 to help them achieve their 5,000 target.

Anna Parkin, who has three children aged from 18 months to eight years and is one of the project’s founders, hailed the ‘fantastic’ response so far.

“We’re a group of parents with young children who’d been meeting for a while to discuss climate change and what we as families can do to support the big climate fightback,” she said.

“We felt that encouraging children to plant and nurture trees was a practical way to tackle the climate breakdown and teach those young people the importance of those trees for the planet and how they can create a sustainable future for themselves.

“The launch event was an amazing day and the feedback we’ve had from families has been fantastic.”

For more information, visit the Kids Plant Trees Facebook page.

You can donate at the Kids Plant Trees gofundme page.