GET INVOLVED
What is ‘One Tree Per Child’?
The aim of One Tree Per Child is to get every child to plant at least one tree before they leave school.
Founded by Olivia Newton-John and Jon Dee, One Tree Per Child has planted trees in 10 countries. We have already planted hundreds of thousands of trees and shrubs.
Our video below shows just some of the children who’ve planted trees with ‘One Tree Per Child’.
Want to get involved?
It’s as easy as one, two, tree!
Getting involved with One Tree Per Child is really easy. This page shows how your family, school, community group and local council can get involved.
TREE PLANTING BENEFITS
The benefits children get from planting trees in their local community
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As a child grows, so does their tree. This connection between the child and their tree leads to increased environmental awareness and care.
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Planting a tree is often a child’s first act of volunteering for their community
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Tree planting gives children ‘a sense of belonging’. When they’re planting a tree or a shrub, the child is literally putting down roots in their community.
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Psychological research shows a correlation between childhood contact with nature and better mental health.
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Planting a tree empowers children into realising that they can make a personal difference for wildlife, our soil and the environment.
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When a child’s tree grows, it also increases its beneficial contribution to wildlife, our soil and the environment. The tree can also provide shade.
INFO FOR SCHOOLS
Get your school involved!
When a child plants a tree or a shrub, it doesn’t just help the environment and wildlife. It can also have a really positive impact on the child and their community. That’s why it’s really important to get your primary school involved!
Here are some ideas to get your school started in planting ‘One Tree Per Child’:
- Ask your council if they can help your school to plant trees. Many councils provide free trees to schools. Councils are great on this front – all you have to do is ask for their help and you’ll often get it.
- What if you don’t have space to plant trees at your school? if you don’t have room to plant trees at your school, ask your council to identify some local land where you can plant them.
- Ask your council for help. Ask your local council if they can can lend you tools and assistance. Many councils organise tree planting activites for their local schools. Can your local council do the same for your school? This is particularly useful if your school doesn’t have any experience in organising tree plantings.
- Be flexible when choosing a date for your tree planting. If you ask your council for help and give them plenty of notice, they should be able to help you. If they seem reluctant because they’re too busy, let them know that your school can totally fit in with their schedule.
- Can your local council help you? Bristol City Council organised it so that all 130 schools in their city got involved with ‘One Tree Per Child’. They coordinated all of the tree planting sites at no cost to their local schools. Could your local council do the same for your school?
- Are there local tree planting groups who could help you? In many communities around the world, the local One Tree Per Child school planting is organised by a local tree planting organisation. In Pittsburgh USA, Tree Pittsburgh organise all the school plantings in Pittsburgh. Which local tree planting group could help your school?
- Are there any local business or community groups who could help you? There are many businesses large and small who are happy to sponsor school tree plantings. Why not ask a local business to sponsor your tree planting costs? In Australia, many Lions Clubs help to organise tree plantings in their local community. Why not contact your local Lions or Rotary Club to see if they can help you too?
“I believe that society benefits when young children get out, get their hands in the earth, and plant trees. Planting trees and shrubs is a great way for kids to connect to the environment and their community.” - Olivia Newton-John
INFO FOR COUNCILS
Councils are implementing One Tree Per Child in their communities
One Tree Per Child is being rolled out in partnership with councils in the UK, Australia and other countries. The video below shows how that is being done and how your council can get involved.
Bristol City Council was the first council to join One Tree Per Child and successfully plant one tree for every child. Over 9 years, 100,000 trees have been planted in partnership with the community and Bristol’s 130 primary schools.
Greater Shepparton City Council in Australia has also planted over 100,000 trees and shrubs as part of their local One Tree Per Child initiative.
To sign up your council or to ask us more questions, watch the video below or fill in your details in our contact form below. We do hope that you can get involved!
PATRONS & AMBASSADORS
Patrons and Ambassadors
‘One Tree Per Child’ is fortunate to be backed by some very eminent people both in Australia and the UK.
Our supporters include Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall from River Cottage and eminent people like Lord Stern and Archbishop Desmond Tutu (vale).
ABOUT US
Our first tree!
One Tree Per Child’s first tree was planted in London’s Hyde Park. Thanks to Royal Parks, Olivia Newton-John, Jon Dee and Estelle Dee planted a hawthorne tree at the Hyde Park Learning Centre in Hyde Park.
We were joined by local school children and ‘One Tree Per Child’ ambassador Pat Cash.
Who started One Tree Per Child?
‘One Tree Per Child’ was started by Olivia Newton-John and Jon Dee, the original founders of Australia’s highly successful ‘National Tree Day’.
During the 12 years that Olivia and Jon fronted ‘National Tree Day’, over 10 million native trees and shrubs were planted across Australia and hundreds of thousands of children were involved.
As the Global Director for One Tree Per Child, Jon is using his experience from setting up National Tree Day to roll out One Tree Per Child around the world.
You can see Olivia and Jon talking about the ten millionth tree in this National Tree Day video below.
Who runs One Tree Per Child?
‘One Tree Per Child’ is a community-interest social enterprise that’s administered by Jon Dee, the co-Founder and Global Director of the initiative. One Tree Per Child is operated on a not-for-profit basis and Jon volunteers his time for the initiative.
In Australia, the initiative is managed on our behalf by the DoSomething charity. At the local level, the initiative is run by local councils and schools that sign up to run the initiative in their local community.
SIGN-UP / CONTACT US
Want to sign-up?
Does your school, family, council or community group want to get involved with ‘One Tree Per Child’?
If so, please use this contact form to get in touch with us.
Address Details
One Tree Per Child
PO Box 585, Katoomba, the Blue Mountains, NSW 2780 Australia
