The tree created by the children at Park Primary School

Youngsters from a school in Stratford have created a tree sculpture made entirely from paper cups as part of a recycling programme.

The tree created by the children at Park Primary School

The pupils, called the Eco Warriors, from Park Primary School worked with an education officer for Waste Watch as part of the school’s involvement with the Rcycle for your Community Schools Programme.

The tree was made entirely from Huhtamaki’s limited edition ‘Celebration2012’ paper cups. They feature images of iconic London landmarks and sporting events to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and Olympic Games and the ‘Park Primary Celebration Tree’ was created as part of a collaborative school project.

Each child in the school transformed one of the cups into a flower, leaf or bird, which the Eco Warriors collected and attached to the branches – also made from the disposable cups – to build the tree.

Julia said: “It was fantastic to work on such an inspiring project with Park Primary School, especially when their logo is a tree – as well as a globally recognised symbol of sustainability. The Park Primary Celebration Tree represents an important Olympic value, respect. As a school in an Olympic host borough, Park Primary will experience a summer like no other; and while work focusing on the Olympic values is being taught in schools across the country, with the Games taking place on their doorstep it is a great opportunity for the pupils to take part in such an exciting project to promote this important value.”

The tree was unveiled exclusively at the Footprint Awards evening in London and took pride of place.

Following the awards, the tree will be displayed at the school to remind everyone of the beauty in nature, the importance of working together to achieve more and to always act with respect to the environment.

The cups are made by Huhtamaki which is working to communicate the positive benefits of foodservice packaging and disposable products.