Foxdale Primary School has received a grant from the Manx Lottery Trust to plant a wood in its playing fields.

The £700 grant was used to purchase a variety of species of trees that are indigenous to the island.

The woodland will also help to balance the school’s carbon footprint and create a wooded area that will attract a wide range of insects, birds and other wildlife.

Chris Kirk, a teacher at the school, said: ’We were hoping to involve as many parents and children as possible to set up the new woodland, but Covid-19 changed that as we only had a small window of planting time to get the trees in.’

’We are very grateful to Manx Lottery Trust for its generous funding and were delighted to welcome them to school for the official launch in July.’

The week the school was closed, Mr Kirk and a small team of helpers started planting the trees. Once the island had gone into lockdown the site had to be left alone, but before the summer holidays started the staff took the opportunity to get the pupils involved in helping to sort the site and paint rocks for a cairn.

Manx Lottery Trust chairman Sarah Kelly said: ’It’s wonderful to see the children in our island getting involved with protecting our environment.’