William tells children ‘you are the future’ as he joins tree planting session

The Duke of Cambridge has planted mangrove saplings in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a group of children, and told them “you are the future” in the fight to save the planet.

The future king, dressed in a suit, crouched down to give the young plants a start in life when he visited a nature reserve in Abu Dhabi.

In a drive to help protect regional flora and fauna, environmental campaigner William went to learn about efforts to safeguard the wetlands with the son of Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Khaled.

William and Sheikh Khaled planted mangrove saplings together at the Jubail Mangrove Park and were told mangroves capture four times more carbon than rain forests.

The duke chatted to Amaan Haider, 13, and Lily-Rose Mayall, 12, from the British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.

He told the students: “You are the future. Keep up the good work.”

Mark Leppard, the school’s headmaster, said: “The children who were introduced to the prince are part of out global leaders programme, who all volunteer, and follow the 20 global goals for sustainability.

“This initiative is part of improving the local environment. They’ve been excited and surprised and this came through (with them being) ecstatic about sharing their thoughts.”