Pupils at the John of Gaunt School in Trowbridge are celebrating the new millennium by planting trees.

Every student in Year 7 has planted a tree or a shrub at the far end of their playing field, creating a small area of woodland.

The children have been working on the project in groups and the planting took place throughout the day yesterday.

All of the trees used have been raised by the school from seeds that were obtained locally.

To ensure the best chance of survival, the trees will be planted as 'whips' plants between 30 and 90cm tall. They will be grown in an area that was left over from the school's recent sports facilities improvements.

Pete Eyles, the teacher responsible for the tree planting project, said: "Protection and conservation of our environment are obviously very important issues as we enter a new millennium.

"We hope that through this project we will encourage all pupils to care for and respect our natural environment."