Shropshire Council – Remembrance Service – HMD 2026
Activity information
Activity type: Private activity
Organisation name: Shropshire Council
Website: http://www.shropshire.gov.uk
Address:
Whitchurch Juniors
Salisbury Road
Whitchurch
Shropshire
SY13 1RX
United Kingdom
Shropshire Memorial Cherry Tree Planting with School Children 2026
In Shropshire, the approach that we have been taking for the last ten years in Shropshire is to work with primary schools in ways that will be age appropriate and memorable for them, through planting cherry trees across our very large and rural county.
The Council and partners will take this very timely opportunity to show joint commitment against racism and religious hatred, and joint commitment to working with our children and young people. Our aim is to help them grow up with greater awareness and understanding about the Holocaust and other genocides, and why these must not happen again.
We involve our faith leaders and local Shropshire Council councillors as community leaders, finding a different primary school each year, so the orchard can grow in rural villages and market towns throughout Shropshire.
For us, it is very much about working across generations and faiths, and about helping the children of the county to grow alongside the trees. The theme for 2026 of “Bridging generations” is very apt. It will be our 21st tree, so the orchard is coming of age.
We are planting in Whitchurch in the north of the county, at Whitchurch Junior School, having been in Ludlow in the south in 2025, and Whitchurch Town Council are kindly donating the cherry tree.
Schoolchildren at Whitchurch Juniors will plant a memorial cherry tree on the morning of Holocaust Memorial Day, Monday 27th January. This will involve South Shropshire Interfaith Forum, the school itself, and the local Shropshire Council councillor as well as the Mayor of Whitchurch. Children will think about the theme for the year, say prayers and light a special three wick candle to denote the three world faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The school will make a promise to look after their tree as it grows as part of our orchard.
At every school where we have planted these trees, children have enjoyed being part of this and have shown a great understanding when planting the trees as to their meaning and importance.
The school are also working towards making an artwork flame. The idea is that each child in school creates a handprint which is then mounted into the flame design and then we fill the flames with names of family members under the heading of bridging generations.
The intention is to involve the portfolio holder for children and education, who is also the local councillor, and the Mayor of Whitchurch Town Council, along with interfaith forum colleagues, so that they can help create the artwork and in so doing take the opportunity to reflect and share on what has been achieved in the last ten years, and how special the Whitchurch tree will be in helping our orchard to grow.
The plan is that we come in on the 27th to plant the tree; participate in the assembly; meet with children helping to plant it and light candles; and then come back to help with finishing the artwork.
In this way, children will have met the interfaith forum colleagues plus our portfolio holder and the Whitchurch mayor, and will be able to build upon that relationship and really ‘bridge generations’ when they see them for follow up activity on finalising the flame artwork.
This will then be a collective piece of artwork that really brings the theme to life, and provides a fitting way for us all in Shropshire to commemorate the planting of what will be our 21st tree.
Organiser Name
Other organisation(s) involved
Shrewsbury Interfaith Forum; South Shropshire Interfaith Forum; Whitchurch Juniors; Whitchurch Town Council