YOUNGSTERS are helping to save a rare native tree on the North York Moors as part of a conservation initiative.
Primary school children from Lealholm, Castleton, Danby and Botton, have joined together to help the national park celebrate its 50th anniversary.
They have been planting juniper seedlings in the northern part of the park to ensure the future of the tree, which has survived in the area since the last Ice Age.
Ecologist Rona Charles said the juniper was a flagship species in the national park's biodiversity action plan.
"There are very few junipers remaining in the national park and all existing examples of this bushy tree appear very old, mostly in excess of 100 years.
"The species is a relic of the last Ice Age retreat and we are keen to ensure we do not lose this distinctive plant from our moorland landscape," she said.
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