Nat Geo Kids funds new trees for Reading school!

Here’s some treemendous news. Thanks to National Geographic Kids, children in Reading, England, have planted over a hundred new trees on their school’s grounds! We got involved to support nature as part of our carbon offsetting plan.

If that all sounds a bit complicated, don’t worry! Read on to find out all about this tree-planting adventure…

What is carbon offsetting?

At Nat Geo Kids HQ, we’re working hard to make our magazines as sustainable as possible – by making our monthly issues plastic-free, cutting down on how far our magazines travel and all sorts of other things you can read about on our Sustainability Timeline.

But the production of our magazine still creates greenhouse gases, which contribute to climate change. These come from processes like vans and lorries carrying magazines to shops and homes, as well as the energy used to power printing machines and more.

We’re working on figuring out the full carbon impact of printing and distributing our magazine, so we can work with our suppliers to reduce it. But this takes time! So, in the short-term, we are carbon offsetting the emissions we have been able to calculate but not yet remove.

But how can a business do that? Well, we decided to help protect part of the Amazon rainforest with verified carbon credits and help a school right here in the UK plant more trees on their grounds.

Let’s get planting…

Using Carbon Footprint Ltd’s Tree Buddying scheme, we decided to plant 137 trees at a school right here in the UK. They were planted in February 2023 at Crosfields School in Reading, England.

Kids from the school planted a mixture of native species, including hawthorn, oak trees and silver birch. Hopefully, in the years to come, these saplings will grow into big trees, which store carbon dioxide and release oxygen for us to breathe. Yay!

We asked some of the kids why they thought it was important for the school to plant trees. Here are their answers…

“Because trees make oxygen!” – Xiran

“So we have more places to explore and trees to climb.” – Richard

“It helps save the environment and helps nature.” – Musa

“So we can make more paper to do more colouring!” – Ayeza

Great insights, kids! Everyone had a fun day planting the trees, getting dirty and learning all about the difference the new greenery will make to the school grounds.

Unbe-leaf-able benefits.

“The new trees will provide food and shelter for the different species that live within our grounds,” says groundsman Harvey from Crosfields. “Not only will they do their job of absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, but they’ll also attract new animals to the school grounds.”

The kids are excited to spend more time at forest school in the grounds, surrounded by the saplings and the wildlife.

“The new trees will thicken the already existing perimeter of the school too,” Harvey adds. “It’ll give us more privacy and provide new areas for the children to explore.”

So it’s good news all round – the kids are excited, the school will be safer and greener, and our planet will benefit from all the carbon dioxide those trees will absorb. Hooray!

Are you a teacher in the UK? Find out how your school can apply for FREE trees sponsored by companies like Nat Geo Kids, by visiting the Carbon Footprint Ltd website. 

What do you think of Nat Geo Kids’ carbon offsetting efforts so far? Were you pleased to see our trees!? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Written with thanks to Crosfields School and Carbon Footprint Ltd. Images of kids (c) Crosfields School.

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