Staff vow to beat the vandals who destroyed trees in Kirkcaldy

Youngsters at Pathhead Primary in Kirkcaldy were shocked to learn the trees they had recently planted were vandalised in the town’s Pannie Den Woods last weekend.

Around a third of the trees, which were kindly donated by Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, were destroyed in the incident with many of the plastic tubes used to protect them snapped in half and trampled on.

But Ecology Centre staff are determined not to let the vandals win as they since returned to the woods and have replanted the damaged trees.

A spokeswoman from The Ecology Centre said the children, from primaries four to seven, had planted the trees as part of an outdoor learning project with the Kinghorn education facility. She said the children had worked hard on the scheme, walking to and from the wood, carrying equipment and the trees and getting stuck into digging the ground to get them planted.

Claire Reid, education manager at The Ecology Centre, said: “The pupils involved have had lots of fun and really enjoyed learning about trees. They have been proud of their work too - so much so they even named their trees! This vandalism is so disappointing. But we won’t let the vandals beat us and the trees that were damaged have since been replaced.”