Bells Brae bairns in running for national award after tree-planting project

Bells Brae primary school in Lerwick has been named as a finalist in the national Helping It Happen Awards 2021.

Pupils from the school planted around 70 trees at Holmsgarth Road in May, to tie in with a school project ‘Living Things’.

The trees were donated by the Lerwick Port Authority (LPA) and Shetland Amenity Trust and its woodlands team provided advice and support for the planting as part of their conservation and cultivation programme in the islands.

Twenty trees are usually planted annually, but this year LPA and Bells Brae decided to up the scale after missing a year due to Covid.

Most of the species planted are hardy and include native varieties that thrive in the Shetland climate, creating an attractive wooded habitat on the town’s outskirts, which will encourage pollinating bees and insects.

Bells Brae is a finalist in the Education Award category, and will battle it out with Aberdeenshire-programme Ringlink Scotland and Fresh Start from Dumfries House for the prize.

The winners will be announced in a live virtual ceremony on 27 October 2021 at 7pm.