Students plant an avenue of trees

On April 24, 2023, students from MBO College Lelystad stood with spades in hand along the driveway of the nature estate. Not what you would expect on a day of planting trees with students: these were students from the Beautician course. Their hands were trained for skin, faces, and gel. That day, they dug planting holes and put native trees in the ground, one by one, until an avenue was formed.

Planting trees with students, even if their studies are something completely different

The planting day was part of Plan Boom, an initiative of the Nature and Environment Federations that aims to plant ten million trees in the Netherlands. In Flevoland, the goal is half a million. The nature estate structurally cooperates with this project. Previously, students from the Wood and Furniture College Amsterdam and Aventus Apeldoorn came to plant a Miyawaki forest. For those courses, the link was obvious: trees, wood, field of study.

It was different for MBO College Lelystad. Yet the turnout was good and the commitment was great. The day showed exactly what a planting action with students delivers: not just trees, but also an experience that stands apart from the field of study. Hands in the soil, feeling the scale, seeing how an avenue forms between the grass and the driveway.

A forest for and by students, in parts

“A forest for and by students” is the motto under which Plan Boom and Yūgen Forest collaborate. The idea is simple: every year, students from different courses come to plant trees. Planting trees with students has now become a regular part of the season in the nature area. Each group adds something. One time it’s a dense Miyawaki forest. Another time it’s an avenue with native trees along an existing driveway. With each planting action, the forest becomes richer and more varied.

Read about the previous planting action where 650 trees were planted by the Groeiend G’hout Foundation, NMFF, and students from two other courses.

The choice for an avenue of trees along the driveway instead of a new forest in an open field was deliberate. An avenue structures the landscape, makes the arrival at the estate visible, and offers birds a continuous line of habitat from the public road to deep into the grounds. Unlike a Miyawaki forest, which is dense and closed, an avenue of trees offers space between the trees for light, air, and visibility.

Plan Boom in Flevoland: 500,000 extra trees

Plan Boom is an initiative of the twelve Nature and Environment Federations that aims to plant ten million trees throughout the Netherlands in gardens, verges, public gardens, parks, on business estates, and in rural areas. In Flevoland, the regional ambition is 500,000 trees. The approach was recognized in 2022 with 20th place in the Trouw Sustainable Top 100.

The nature area managed by Yūgen Forest is one of the places where Plan Boom Flevoland is active. By working together with educational institutions, two goals are achieved at once: trees in the ground and young people who have contributed to nature restoration themselves. Planting trees with students thus contributes to both. The second counts just as much as the first. A student who has planted a tree looks differently at trees in the street, in parks, and in gardens.

The avenue of trees now, two years later

The trees planted in April 2023 have now been in the ground for two summers. The roots have established themselves, the first branches have grown into small crowns, and on sunny days, shadows already fall on the driveway. The avenue is not yet fully grown—that takes years—but the structure is there. Anyone walking onto the grounds now can immediately see where the planting took place.

For the students of that day, something concretely visible remains. Their trees are there. If they ever return, they can point out exactly which ones they planted.

Planting trees with students on your initiative

The nature estate enjoys collaborating with educational institutions and companies that want to contribute in a similar way. The form is not fixed. An avenue, a hedgerow, a Miyawaki forest, a tea hedge: we choose what fits per group and per goal.

For educational institutions, planting trees with students works as a day outside the classroom that fits into no curriculum, and that’s exactly why it works. For companies, it works differently: a team day where a physical contribution is made to a landscape that will still be growing in ten, twenty, fifty years.