Schoolchildren are helping to plant the roots of environmental awareness by taking home a cedar tree.

Junior school students at Saltus Grammar School each had the opportunity to take home a tree on the last day of term, thanks to Save Open Spaces (SOS).

The charity has successfully germinated more than 12,000 cedar seedlings over the past three years, 8,000 of which have been donated to "the future custodians of our Island, the youth of today".

Over the past three months, all public and private school students in Bermuda have been invited to take home a cedar tree.

Stuart Smith, SOS chairman, said: "This effort is not only to raise environmental awareness but also to emphasise the need to plant trees to help combat global warming.

"SOS volunteers have worked tirelessly for the last three months, preparing the seedlings for their new homes."

The tree planting project also commemorates the Island's 400th anniversary of permanent settlement.