Maghull/Lydiate’s Astounding Community Kindness for Local Schoolchildren and the Shrinking Environment, Despite Challenges: heartfelt thanks for an amazing achievement!

Last Wednesday (25.3.26) our altruistic community responded magnificently at short notice to plant 1400 trees at St Thomas’ Primary School (Kenyon’s Lane, Lydiate). The Friends of Maghull & District (FOMD) in collaboration with the school received the invaluable trees at short notice from Mersey Forest, which needed to be planted before the end of the planting season in March and days before the half-term break, in daunting weather and exacerbated by uncertainty about attracting enough volunteers at short notice and with terrible weather.

FOMD and St Thomas Primary School would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who made the seemingly impossible possible.

Surprisingly the weather didn’t blow us away with hailstones as forecast and we were blessed with about 70 volunteers and 250 St Thomas’ children (320!!) who in the morning planted 1200 trees in the form of a 275m wildlife friendly hedge around the whole school grounds perimeter providing some restoration from the neighbouring loss of nature due to housebuilding.

We were heroically joined by:

10 students and two teachers from Deyes High School,
A Revenue & Customs team (one of whom had travelled on public transport from Wales!),
A Seqirus Pharmaceutical team,
Local parish and borough councillors,
Children’s family members, and the local community.
FOMD volunteers
Ben from Mersey Forest was again incredible by providing a grant to pay for all the 1400 trees including 11 standard trees, canes, guards, future mulch and maintenance. In addition, Ben also found the energy to provide multiple and eco-educational tree planting experiences for every one of the 250 children in the school via half class engagement throughout the day. Eleven grant funded standard trees are being planted by a subcontractor on the 2.4.26. With a further nine being planted at last year’s St Gregory’s primary school tree beneficiaries on the 7.4.26.
Everyone was incredibly friendly and Mrs Emily Alty (Head Teacher) could not have been more hospitable, even offering a school lunch. In addition, we were also able to take away lots of logs that had previously been cut from trees for safety, to border Rowlands Dell paths.
The tree planting was completed on Friday (27.3.26) and although the weather forecast again looked ominous it improved just-in-time for us to be gratefully joined by 12 children and two staff from Maghull High School and three experienced Green Sefton managers to enable the final 214 trees at the rear to be planted and quality checked within the morning. Absolutely Magical!

Background.

Loss of Local Nature.

Following the profound loss of the school’s neighbouring panorama of nature to housebuilding. The area has been identified as part of the local plan for considerable housing development, increasing our 26,000 population by approximately 25%, resulting in considerable green space loss. FOMD is an award-winning environmental community group who have been transforming neglected spaces and planting 18,000 trees, providing a balance to the profound loss of green space due to ‘local plan’ housing development in Maghull/Lydiate. St Thomas’ Primary School is a small school which like many others sometimes struggle to meet their environmental aspirations whilst having to resource and prioritise other needs, yet the school punches above its weight and is listed as the third best school on Merseyside. Sadly, the unbroken beautiful countryside panorama and wildlife habitat on two sides of the school perimeter have been decimated with the building of 450 homes, with upsetting responses due to the loss of wildlife habitat.

Successful Application.

FOMD made contact with the wonderfully friendly and receptive Mrs Alty (Head Teacher at St Thomas’) in 2025 and negotiated our shared aspirations for the benefit of the school, community, environment and the eco-educational needs of the children. We received fantastic support from our long-term friend at Mersey Forest (Ben Greenaway) who have provided an incredible grant for 1400 free trees, canes, tree guards, 11 large standard trees, and future maintenance costs. The planting will be undertaken by FOMD, the school and community volunteers in March 2026. With immense gratitude to Mersey Forest.

Benefits.

We will create a 275m mixed wildlife friendly hedging around the perimeter of the school and plant 11 standard trees to provide:

Eco-educational key stage opportunities for every child in the school to plant the trees and develop environmental knowledge and values, supported by Mersey Forest. Emulating successful strategies from planting 18,000 trees over the last four years, in other schools, public parks and roads.
Replenish some of the wildlife habitat and food that is currently being disproportionately lost.
Reduce pollution by 60%
Enhance climate action carbon sequestration.
Improve health and wellness for the children, teachers and the wider community.
Provide positivity and inspiration for others to undertake future environmental projects for the good of the environment and community. Every key stage child, teacher and family member will have the opportunity to plant trees, develop environmental knowledge and values, whilst also creating pride and inspiration. Which will be undertaken alongside FOMD community volunteers and the outreach team from Mersey Forest. The children will receive key stage pre and post information about tree planting and the wider environmental benefits. They will also excitedly develop an ecology community forestry school council and action group. The wider neighbouring community and environment will also derive multiple restorative benefits.

The mixed wildlife friendly hedging trees will comprise of: hawthorn, rowan, blackthorn, silver birch, hazel, common oak, dogwood, wild cherry, hazel, dog rose, crab apple, holly, hazel, downy birch and goat willow.

FOMD are absolutely delighted to continue galvanising our kind and supportive community to work together to make Maghull/Lydiate a better place to live. We are overjoyed that this contribution will achieve a milestone of a culminative total of 20,000 trees planted over the last five years in multiple parks, roads and heart-warmingly in the following primary schools: Hudson (2023), St Georges (2024), St Gregory’s (2025) and now St Thomas’ (2026). Following the sad loss of hundreds of mature trees, green spaces and climate change challenges we are immensely grateful to the whole community for helping to redress the balance for generations to come.

Pictured: just a small proportion of the volunteers that attended over the two days of planting. We hope to update the pictures when the two high schools return from half term holidays.

Many Thanks and well done to everyone for making such a positive difference,

FOMD

Together Making Maghull/Lydiate a Better Place to Live.