A young sapling raised from a remarkable oak tree⸺once the focus for our national education and arts project⸺has been planted by children in an Oxfordshire school.

Stonesfield Primary School children and their OneOak sapling

In 2010 a 222-year-old oak tree, grown in woodland on the Blenheim Palace Estate, was felled for its timber. It was donated to Sylva Foundation by Blenheim Palace as the focus for our education project OneOak. The OneOak project brought people closer to growing trees for wood by telling the full life story of the oak tree. The tree’s felling was watched by 250 local school children who then returned to the woodland, planting seedlings grown from the acorns of the OneOak tree, to create a new oak forest.

Today, children from Stonesfield Primary School⸺one of schools that took part in the OneOak project⸺were excited to be planting a young oak sapling grown from the OneOak woodland in their school grounds. In addition to the young OneOak tree, trees and flowers have been planted to create a new wild area for learning and play.

Generous support for the planting day has been provided by the forestry team from Blenheim Palace who helped the children plant trees, and provided benches and log seats made of timber from the estate’s woodlands. Imogen Radford from local company Wonderwood donated her time and skills to create a willow weave shelter with the children. Local companies Nicholsons and Barlows generously provided trees and building materials.

Paul Orsi, Sylva Foundation Director for Forestry, commented:

“This is a wonderful project to help young people, not only learn about trees and forestry, but to actually become young foresters by planning, planting and managing the new trees themselves! Meeting the Blenheim Palace Forestry team and Wonderwood’s Imogen Radford will really inspire young people to understand the work that happens in our woodlands everyday.”

Jen Hurst, Sylva Foundation Education Manager commented:

“Planting the young OneOak tree is not only completing the OneOak story but also marks the beginning of an exciting new youth-led project for Sylva.”

Fi McGregor, Head Teacher at Stonesfield School commented :

“It was a privilege to be involved with the original OneOak project, our children got to know the OneOak tree; studying it, measuring it and drawing it. We then witnessed the unforgettable felling of the beautiful tree followed by the processing of the timber to make a range of oak products from furniture to fuel pellets.

Returning to the woods to plant the OneOak acorns made us feel part of the life cycle of the OneOak. To be able to plant a OneOak sapling in our own grounds means that the OneOak story continues. Sylva and Blenheim have enabled our children to gain a better understanding of how felling trees contributes to woodland management and to the huge range of products one tree can provide. We are incredibly grateful to the staff of Sylva and Blenheim for giving us this fantastic opportunity and for helping us to plan and create a new wild garden space for play and for learning.”