Evolving from the international “Restore the Earth” conference held in Scotland in 2002, Earth Restoration Service (ERS) was founded in 2004 and became a Registered Charity in early 2007. ERS`s vision for a global effort to restore the life sustaining capacity of the planet calls for positive action by all the world`s citizens to play their part in restoring the natural health of their own environments.

To that end, ERS encourages the participation of communities, organisations and individuals in a network of ecosystem restoration projects in the UK and around the world. The combined aim of the UK School Tree Nurseries (STNs) is to provide trees for restoration of locally degraded environments such as flood land, eroded countryside and neglected inner city areas, and to educate and support the children, adults and communities involved.

STNs are created within school grounds, with children participating in raising saplings in a nursery environment, giving them both a sense of achievement and tangible environmental educational benefit. Once saplings have reached the correct maturity, ERS arranges their planting out by the children in co-ordination with local council authorities, identifying the most appropriate places, generally barren areas prone to erosion or degraded city areas.

In 2008 a total of 25 schools across the country were supplied with native trees and now further funding has been provided in both 2009 and 2010.