More than 100 pupils at Oak View Primary & Nursery School in Hatfield were involved in making an eco-friendly Christmas Tree and decorations. All the pupils are very excited that their work will be available for the public to see at The Galleria in Hatfield from Friday 12th December.

Their work has made an excellent contribution to an environmental project organised by local charity, Our Greener Future. With a massive one billion Christmas cards being sent and about 250 tonnes of Christmas trees being thrown away in the UK every year, this project aims at raising greater awareness of the importance of recycling.

The pupils were happy to share their views on how they contributed to this project.

Luke, age 7 told us: “We are making Christmas decorations out of paper because we are trying to make you think about recycling.”

Megan, age 10 added: “Painting was really fun. We had to stand on our toes to reach the top of the tree. It was very messy and we got paint everywhere! The paint was organic paint made from clay and it smelt really nice.”

With strong support from local businesses and a partnership with The Galleria in Hatfield, Monika is very excited about the project. “We are delighted to partner with The Galleria on this project. This hugely popular shopping outlet in Hatfield is an ideal home for our Christmas Tree. I would also like to express gratitude to Wickes, Earthborn Paints and WHSmith for proving materials, FReScH (Furniture Recycling) for providing transportation and Castle Joinery for making the main structure of the tree and an information board.”

Tim Stirling, Centre Director at The Galleria, said: “We welcome this recycled Christmas tree and hope it will spread the important messages about recycling and thinking about how to dispose of waste appropriately over the festive period. We hope shoppers will enjoy seeing the tree in the Galleria as well as finding out more about Our Greener Future’s commitments to helping the environment.”

We asked Monika to explain the charity’s motto: Our Greener Future is in Your Hands. “Every day we all make decisions that have an impact on the environment, starting from our shopping choices, how we dispose of our household waste to the usage of water, gas and electricity in our homes. With 7 billion people on this planet, we believe that individual actions are the most powerful force to bring positive environmental changes. We believe that our greener future requires a combined effort from all of us.”

The Christmas Tree will be on display on the upper level of The Galleria in Hatfield from 12th December for a period of one month.

Based on information supplied by Monika Margrett.