Children from more than 30 schools across the Royal Borough have planted trees as part of an initiative to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this year.
The trees will form part of the Queen’s Green Canopy, a project which invites people from across the UK to ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’.
The council offered a batch of small trees to all the borough’s schools, colleges and nurseries to mark the celebration. These were of mixed species, up to the value of £100, and were mainly native such as hawthorn, crab-apple, silver birch, field maple, holly, hornbeam, scots pine, wild cherry and rowan.
A total of 1,080 trees were supplied to 36 schools, colleges and nurseries and these were planted before Christmas, the majority in their grounds. The council placed the orders for them, taking account of the soil types for each site.
Planting trees is an important part of the council’s Environment and Climate Strategy which sets out our vision and actions to achieve the borough's net-zero emissions target by 2050 at the latest.
Councillor Donna Stimson, cabinet member for climate change, sustainability, parks and countryside, said: “We are enormously proud to have Her Majesty as a resident of the borough and be celebrating her Platinum Jubilee in such an innovative, fun and environmentally-beneficial way. The trees will be a lasting and living legacy of commemoration of this milestone for future generations of children. This has also been a wonderful opportunity to see young people from across our area have a role in the celebrations and learn more about the importance of tree planting to help sequester carbon dioxide, enhance biodiversity and create green spaces for them to enjoy.
“It has come at a time when we are already planting 8,000 trees at Ockwells Park, near Maidenhead, which will also be included in the canopy. Once completed, around 20,000 trees will have been planted in the borough since 2019. Initiatives such as these show our commitment to tackling the climate crisis and the importance of involving the whole community in that work.
“Anyone can get involved in the Queen’s Green Canopy including community groups, businesses and individuals and I would encourage as many in the borough as possible to take part. You will be helping the environment and be part of national celebration honouring Her Majesty’s service to the nation.”
For more information on the Queen’s Green Canopy please visit:
https://queensgreencanopy.org/The Woodland Trust is giving away trees to schools and community groups. Applications for the March 2022 delivery are now closed but applications for the November 2022 delivery will open in spring. Visit:
https://queensgreencanopy.org/get-involved/schools/
