MESSAGE OF THANKS FROM THE QUEEN AS A MILLION JUBILEE TREES ARE PLANTED
On the last day of the official tree planting season, which runs from October to March, Her Majesty The Queen has sent a message to thank people all over the United Kingdom who have come together to plant over a million Jubilee trees in her name.
With a focus on planting sustainably, Her Majesty’s message marks the halfway point for The Queen’s Green Canopy initiative which spans two official tree planting seasons. Tree planting will commence again in October 2022, through until the end of the Jubilee year.
Her Majesty and The Prince of Wales, Patron of the QGC, marked the start of the official planting season for The Queen’s Green Canopy on 1st October 2021, with the planting of a copper beech tree on the Balmoral Estate.
Since then, thousands of families, schools and community groups have come together to plant Jubilee trees across the country to create a canopy of green in The Queen’s name, as a tribute to Her Majesty’s 70 years of service to the Nation.
The projects are proudly showcased on The Queen’s Green Canopy Map, from the stunning Scottish Highlands, to the breath-taking Giant’s Causeway, over to Merthyr Tydfil in the Welsh Valleys, across to Birmingham in the very heart of England, and vibrant urban greening throughout London.
To give people time to upload their planting projects, the QGC Map will close for new submissions at the end of April and will open again at the start of the planting season on 1st October 2022.
To bring the first planting season to a close, The Countess of Wessex this morning planted an elm tree in the garden at Buckingham Palace with students from Grange Park Primary in Shropshire. The students were presented with special commemorative Jubilee coins from the Royal Mint, to mark the successful completion of their QGC RFS Junior Forester Award.
With planting paused until October, The Queen’s Green Canopy will move into a conservation phase, to unveil 70 Ancient Woodlands and 70 Ancient Trees. As quintessential features of the UK’s much-loved landscapes, Ancient Woodlands are often referred to as nature’s “crown jewels”.
Key achievements for The Queen’s Green Canopy at the halfway point include:
UK Tree Planting – in the first planting season, from October 2021 to March 2022, the project has inspired over a million trees to be planted.
With The Prince of Wales as its active Patron, the QGC is generating the planting of large celebration trees, new majestic avenues, urban planting and expansive new forests that will benefit generations to come. The QGC is bringing beauty and benefits of trees to areas of need, particularly in urban schools and communities.
The QGC aims to have high quality legacy planting in every county of the UK, with community engagement and best practice at its heart and an emphasis on making a difference in some of the most deprived areas in the UK.
The QGC launched a “Champion Cities” programme to celebrate some of the nation’s outstanding cities which have trees and woodland as a central part of their plans for green spaces. UK cities which have been awarded QGC “Champion” status so far include Aberdeen, Bath, Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Chester, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Greater Manchester, Leicester, London, Newcastle, Perth, Preston, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Swansea, Worcester and York.
