MUDDY feet of pupils of St George's, Clun Primary School have accomplished a feat at Clun Castle. The planting of 35 trees on the river bank.

Treated to hot chocolate and a discussion about the value of trees and the use of alder timber to make such things as clogs and charcoal, the children got busy digging holes and planting hazel, alder, black poplar and crack willow trees.

Each were staked and covered with a tree shelter. Worms and frogs were found during the task, to the delight of the children. The tree roots will come to help protect the archaeological heritage of the site from the eroding effects of the river, by binding together the soil of the riverbank.

Miss Newth, from Clun Primary School, said "We are very grateful to the Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership for allowing us to join them in protecting this site. The children have learned about the trees and why they are so important in this situation. The pupils showed great teamwork and perseverance as they dug the holes and planted the trees all along the edge of the river".

One pupil, Emma Scuffham, added, "Tree planting was really fun because we got to plant trees by the Clun castle river".

Ewa Prokop, River Catchment Project Assistant, said "Together with other local volunteers in the Clun catchment, we have planted 1000 trees alongside the River Clun and River Redlake, as part of a SITA funded project. We are very grateful for all the effort and saw that participants really enjoyed their days out".