Children from two Byker primary schools have been making their mark on the future by planting a Sycamore Gap sapling in the grounds of a unique local community venue.
Pupils from St Lawrence Catholic Primary School and Byker Primary School carried out the official planting ceremony at the Lighthouse Project on Saint Michael’s Mount in front of family members, friends, teachers and local community leaders.
The Lighthouse Project, which opened last summer, was created through the 18-month long renovation of St Michael’s Church, and hosts a broad range of activities and services centred around young people, including an open access youth club for juniors and seniors, family health & wellbeing programmes and homework clubs.
Pupils from both schools regularly use the Lighthouse Project’s facilities for a range of different activities, including Forest School sessions in the area where the sapling has been planted.
Charlotte Robson, head of school at St Lawrence Catholic Primary School, says: “The Lighthouse Project is a wonderful community resource which has enhanced the opportunities we are able to offer our pupils.
“Being part of the Sycamore Gap sapling planting and seeing how new life can come from something negative aligns very closely with our school values.”
Michelle Donnison, head teacher at Byker Primary School, adds: “The Sycamore Gap sapling that our pupils are planting embody nature’s unwavering determination to flourish, a resilience which mirrors the personal growth and strength we strive to cultivate within our own school community.”
The Lighthouse Project was designed to provide a safe, welcoming meeting place where young people and the community can flourish, and already welcomes around xxx young people and their families through its doors every month.
The redevelopment includes a new purpose-built youth club annexe, arts & performance spaces, e-sports suite, music rehearsal space, outdoor sports area and a nature trail, while mentoring, special educational needs support and detached youth work are being delivered in cooperation with local delivery partners.
Office, meeting and storage facilities are available for local community partner organisations, while the building also provides a new home for the Byker Scout Group and a reimagined worship space.
Ben Roman, chief executive at The Lighthouse Project, says: “The pupils, and the generations that will follow them through their schools, will be able to watch the sapling grow as they grow themselves, and we hope that, one day, they might be able to sit under its branches with their children and grandchildren.
“Our sapling will be looked after and nurtured here in the same way that we’re working to look after and nurture young people in Byker, and we’re honoured to have it here in our community.”
The Lighthouse Project is one of 49 recipients chosen by The National Trust to receive one of the ‘Trees of Hope’ Sycamore Gap saplings that have been gifted to individuals, groups and organisations across the UK.
Saplings have been planted in eight other North East locations over the winter, including at the West End Women & Girls Centre in Newcastle, Hexham Abbey and Henshaw Church of England Primary School, the closest school to where the original tree stood.
All the saplings are all in publicly accessible spaces, enabling many more people to be part of the iconic tree’s legacy.
Andrew Poad, general manager for the National Trust’s Hadrian Wall properties, says: “The tree meant so much to so many and through the ‘Trees of Hope’ initiative we are helping reach people across the nation, for generations to come.
“Each sapling carries a message of hope with it as they start a new chapter, not just for the tree, but for all the 49 people and communities that have received a sapling.”
For more information and to find out where in the country all of the 49 ‘Trees of Hope’ saplings will go visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/TreesOfHope.
The Lighthouse Project was made possible with the award of a £4.2m grant from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport’s Youth Investment Fund, and through the generosity of Lord Crewe Trust and The Squires Foundation.
For further information, please visit https://thelighthouseproject.org.uk/