The Iris Project is rolling out a first-of-its kind tree guardian scheme at Cheney School in east Oxford through its Rumble Museum. Students on the museum councils are taking part in an initial first phase, where they have each chosen a tree on site to care for. The students will visit the tree each week, monitoring its health, observing the biodiversity around the tree, watering the newer trees, and taking photographs of how the tree changes with each season. 

 

George Milne-Day, TAPS Offcier from the Oxfordshire County Council Tree Service, visited the students on Friday 17th July to provide training on how to monitor tree health. Students looked at the sorts of things that can affect tree health, from fungus to the effects of climate, and students then headed out to assess the health of their own trees.   

 

The Iris Project already has a Tree Trail created by Cheney School students, with carved wooden signs, wording written by students, and many of the trees have "voices", recorded by celebrities such as Monica Ali and Stephen Fry. 

 

"The idea behind this scheme is to encourage young people to feel connected to the nature around them, to celebrate and enjoy it, and also to take a role in caring for it. The hope is that this will create a lasting affection for and sense of responsibility towards nature," said Dr Lorna Robinson, director of the Iris Project and Rumble Museum.

 

Lorna is also the author of a novel "Hamadryad", which imagines a near future where there are huge new national forests and all people are bonded to trees, an update of the ancient Greek idea of tree spirits. 

 

The school's Rumble Museum organised a Tree Conference earlier this year where a range of experts came to run workshops and talks for 160 sixth formers.