Public schools in Dubbo will work with Taronga Western Plains Zoo on a long-term tree-planting project aimed at establishing outdoor learning areas that can be harvested for animal fodder.

Dubbo College’s South and Senior campuses and Dubbo North Public School are participating in the Fodder for Thought project that will involve extensive planting of fodder trees on school land.

Taronga Western Plains Zoo senior education officer Deb Haesler said the trees would form windbreaks and animal shelters on school grounds and be a source of fodder for school and zoo animals. She said the value of the project was immeasurable and “the long-term benefits for the schools and the zoo will be amazing”.

The project, part of the NSW Natural Resources Advisory Council’s Forging Partnerships program, will involve school students working with zoo staff, NSW Forestry and local catchment management authority officers to select appropriate school sites, plant and maintain fodder trees.

Ms Haesler said the project would teach students about the environmental benefits of trees and alternative tree-planting techniques, such as long-stem planting which involves using high pressure water to push soil away from long-stem plants to promote enhanced root growth.

“The growth rate is phenomenal and requires far less watering,” Ms Haesler said. “Students can go home and educate their families … and hopefully it will spread to the wider community.”

Dubbo College South campus science head teacher James Eddy said the project aligned with the school’s environmental programs and would provide much-needed shade for the school’s cattle. Environmental science elective and agricultural technology students would work on planting tree belts at the school.

“We have lots of kids who … are keen to know they are doing something that is going to have an impact,” Mr Eddy said. “Long after they have graduated they will be able to return and say this mighty tree is standing here because of my hand. There is something really special and triumphant in that.”