Over 10,000 trees are to be planted on school grounds across Ireland in the next three years as part of the Coill na nÓg iniative.

Coill na nÓg, which means the children’s forest in Irish, is a native tree and hedgerow campaign and is open to all preschools, primary schools and secondary schools across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

eFlow, operators of barrier-free tolling on Dublin's M50 motorway, has partnered with social enterprise 'Biodiversity in Schools' to help provide one of the island's largest tree-planting projects in education.

"It's so important that our young people have the opportunity to explore our wonderful trees and hedgerows," said Mark Nolan, Director of Biodiversity in Schools.

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"It's therefore essential that schools have these resources on their grounds as an educational tool, not to mention the boost to biodiversity.

"We're hugely appreciative of eFlow's partnership on this project showing leadership of businesses helping biodiversity."

Meanwhile, Roisin Barton Murray, Transport Infrastructure Ireland's eFlow Public Information Manager, commented: "We are delighted to sponsor this initiative, to empower students to plant trees and hedgerows, and learn about their local environment.

"By supporting this program, eFlow are not only investing in the environment but in the next generation of environmental stewards."

Resources will be delivered to successful schools and supported by an online hub. All schools across Ireland are also being encouraged to get outdoors this autumn/ winter and explore their local woodlands and hedgerows.

As an added incentive, three lucky schools who share their adventures on social media will share an outdoor classroom fund worth €12,000.