The pioneering Seed to Saw initiative is launching a website in a bid to make children more ‘forest savvy’.
The scheme, operating in the north-east of England, wants to get youngsters tuned into the growing timber industry in the region, which is worth £425m each year and employs about 30,000 people.
Project partners One North East, the Forest Education Initiative, the Forestry Commission and the Great North Forest are to link classrooms with the industry via the website (www.seedtosaw.org)
The site will contain video clips and assignments, enabling schools to create studies linked to the trade.
Website material was developed by pupils and teachers from three schools who spent a term visiting forests, botanical gardens, sawmills, processing plants and IKEA‘s recycling area.
John Vaughan, director of the Great North Forest, said: “What makes this project unique is the way schools, public agencies and businesses have come together, linking all aspects of forestry from managing woods to making timber products, while also looking at eco-issues.”
