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  • 31/03/2024
Much-loved children’s author Lauren Child has urged schools and community groups across the UK to take advantage of the Woodland Trust’s “brilliant” free trees scheme and bring hope to the fight against climate change.

The creator of iconic characters Charlie and Lola and Clarice Bean, whose latest book Clarice Bean Smile shines a light on children’s anxiety over the environment, was prompted to back the scheme because she wanted to bring “hope” and “joy” and show how “little things can make a difference”.

Torriano School in Kentish Town is one of thousands of schools and community groups across the UK that has made the most of the Woodland Trust's scheme - and made ow learning about nature and wildlife an integral part of the school curriculum.

Video : Phil Formby/Supplied

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Transcript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 We are today at Toriano Primary School
00:15 in Kentish Town in London.
00:17 And we've been planting some saplings with the students
00:20 and with the children's author Lauren Child.
00:23 Her new book is Clarice Bean Smile,
00:26 and it stems from Lauren's own anxieties
00:29 around the climate and climate change.
00:31 And so she wanted to come down with us today
00:33 to help to do her little bit and plant some trees with us
00:36 with the schoolchildren.
00:38 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:41 I wrote a little bit about that in my book called
00:45 Clarice Bean Smile.
00:47 And in this story, she's trying to find
00:49 ways of connecting with everything,
00:52 making things better.
00:54 And she talks about wanting to make a change for the better.
00:59 And what can she do?
01:00 Because she's so tiny on our planet, what can she do?
01:04 The reason I started writing this story
01:06 because it was because I was feeling very tiny
01:10 on this planet and thinking, what can I do?
01:12 By searching out joy, I think you begin to rediscover hope.
01:17 And so I thought I would look at my climate anxiety
01:22 through the eyes of a child.
01:25 And the child I chose was Clarice Bean
01:28 because I've written many Clarice Bean books now.
01:31 She's been going for 25 years, and she's now 11.
01:34 [LAUGHS]
01:35 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:39 We've been getting our hands dirty,
01:41 which at first I thought it was really disgusting.
01:43 But at the end, I thought it was really fun.
01:46 You just have to get a little bit of dirt in your hands
01:48 to have fun.
01:49 The idea is that when these get a little bit bigger,
01:52 we're going to move them over to our meadow
01:54 where they can grow with our other apple trees
01:56 and should be beautiful.
01:58 You looking forward to it, kids?
01:59 Yes!
02:01 The Free Trees for Schools and Communities scheme
02:03 gives away millions of trees every year right across the UK.
02:06 And if you'd like to do your bit and plant
02:08 some trees in your area, applications are open now.
02:11 So you can go along to the Woodland Trust website
02:13 and fill in an application form, and you'll
02:15 receive your saplings in November.
02:18 I think everyone should thank Woodland Trust.
02:22 [CHEERING]
02:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:30 [MUSIC ENDS]
02:33 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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