Jewish, Christian and Muslim teenagers planted trees in St Albans in solidarity against climate change on Tuesday.

The students from single-faith schools came together as part of the Climate Coalition’s ‘Show the Love’ campaign, partnering with MADE (Muslim Action for Development and the Environment) and the Woodland Trust, to plant saplings in Heartwood Forest.

The event closed with Christian students sharing prayers, Muslim students reading extracts from the Qur’an and Jewish students explaining the upcoming tree-planting festival Tu Bishvat.

Bethnal Green and Bow MP Rushanara Ali said: “It is collaboration and partnerships between different communities that will help us to tackle climate change whilst also building bridges in the face of increasing hostility against minorities in many parts of the world.”

The students came from Townsend CofE School in St Albans, Islamia Girls School and Yavneh College in north London and Ebrahim Academy in east London.

Woodland Trust Project Lead for the Tree Charter Matt Larsen-Daw said: “This event was a perfect example of young people from different faiths all standing together to show the love for trees in the most meaningful way possible – by planting for the future.”

This year sees the launch of a new Charter for Trees, Woods and People, focusing on the benefits of forestry in cleaning the air and preventing flooding by slowing rainwater.