Pupils at North Berwick High School (NBHS) have launched a petition to save century-old hedgerows next to school grounds.

The petition follows East Lothian Council’s plans to expand the school’s sporting provision by creating new outdoor pitches.

The pitches would be located to the west of the current high school plot on land owned by North Berwick Trust and designated for educational purposes.

But concern was raised that the creation of the new pitches would mean the removal of a hedgerow shelterbelt, which provides a home to a wide variety of bird and insect species and appears on maps dating back to 1853.

A planning application is expected imminently which will outline the exact plans.

However, pupils have now rallied round in a bid to protect the hedge, which is more than 200 metres long and, in places, eight metres wide and eight metres tall.

They are hosting a ‘Hands Round the Hedge’ gathering tomorrow (Thursday) at 3.30pm to collect petition forms and highlight their concerns.

The petition is addressed to the senior management team at the school and states: “We would like to express our support for an NBHS expansion plan which would protect the line of hedgerows around the edges of the school perimeter.

“The hedgerows are not only valuable for creating a greener school grounds, they are also used as an important green corridor and are crucial for several species of plants and animals which regularly use it.

“They also provide a crucial method of drainage for our sports pitches.

“Any plan which causes the removal of these hedgerows would have a hugely detrimental impact.

“Therefore we will support the. . . option which would retain these hedgerows.

“We recognise the need for improved sports infrastructure within the school and believe that this need doesn’t conflict with maintaining our biodiversity.

“As an Eco-Schools Green Flag school, we have made a commitment to sustainability which should be honoured and built upon.

“We would also like to express our wish for more direct consultation with the eco-committee on any proposals for school expansions and their potential environmental impact.

“We would also suggest a wider consultation process for pupils and parents across the school to allow them to express their views.”

The new pitches would replace those lost when the new school nursery was built on high school land.

A council spokesperson said: “We are in the final stages of preparing a planning application which will be open for public consultation.

“All voices will have an opportunity to share their views as part of this formal process.

“The application will detail the layout of the proposed new pitches.

“It will also outline the mitigations required as a result of changing the existing school boundary to see an overall net biodiversity gain.

“The proposal being taken to planning will include removal of a section of the current school boundary hedgerow, as the school boundary requires to change.

“The proposal will set out mitigations in relation to this.

“The earlier draft layouts that the petition refers to were to allow us to work with the school to determine the best orientation and school priorities that would deliver our statutory education requirements and meet the school’s curricular and extended curricular needs.

“Having done so, the preferred proposed layout that meets these requirements has been developed to progress a formal application.

“We believe that the proposal significantly enhances the learning and teaching provision on campus.

“It will play an important role in supporting the physical education and school sport provision at North Berwick High School whilst working to balance interests around biodiversity.”