History
On 10 April 1957, the first official national Tree Planting Day was organised in Apeldoorn. At the time, 1,600 children attended. From 1980 onwards, the National Tree Planting Day Committee (as part of the Dutch Forestry Commission) continued as the National Tree Planting Day Foundation. Now, almost 60 years later, more than 115,000 children enthusiastically plant trees every year!
One tree per child
The aim is for every child to plant at least one tree during their time at primary school (one tree per child). Since this is often their first experience with nature, it is something they will never forget. And once children have become enthusiastic about the value of trees and nature, sooner or later they will also pass this knowledge on to their parents or other carers.
During National Tree Planting Day in 2016, the municipality of 's-Hertogenbosch became the first municipality in the Netherlands to sign the ‘One Tree Per Child’ Declaration of Intent. By signing it, the municipality underscored its intention to enable every child within the municipality of ‘s-Hertogenbosch to plant at least one tree of their own during their time at primary school.
‘One tree per child’ in practice?
In the meantime, more than 50 municipalities have followed the example of the municipality of ‘s-Hertogenbosch and signed the Declaration of Intent, but what happens next? How can I, as a municipality, put the goal of having every child plant a tree in my municipality into practice?
In response, a Creative Session was organised in Madurodam in September 2017. Together with a number of municipalities that had signed the Declaration of Intent, participants brainstormed about how to deal creatively with issues such as a lack of space for new trees or limited financial resources. This was considered not only at municipal level, but also at the level of primary schools, planners and managers: You can find an overview of the creative approaches here.
Make your contribution too!
Several creative approaches have already been devised, but of course this is not where it ends: we are continuing!
Do you work for a municipality, primary school, landscaping company or architecture firm, or are you simply very committed to greenery, and do you have a good idea for putting ‘one tree per child’ into practice or would you like more information? Contact us here and send us your idea!