Princess Anne launches Woodland Trust’s Jubilee Woods project
HRH The Princess Royal today (Thursday 24th) launched one of the most prestigious projects ever undertaken by the Woodland Trust.
The Trust’s Jubilee Woods Project is offering people the gem of a chance to be at the heart of the Queen's 2012 Diamond Jubilee celebrations, by planting trees to celebrate the Queen's 60 years on the throne.
The project, which has the Queen’s support and HRH The Princess Royal as patron, aims to plant six million trees across the UK and involve millions of people. To launch the initiative, the Princess Royal planted a tree and placed a personal letter of support in a specially designed Jubilee Woods time capsule.
Georgina McLeod, project head at the Woodland Trust, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the Princess Royal has agreed to be patron of Jubilee Woods. We very much hope that people across the UK will want to join us in paying a very special tribute to the Queen, while at the same time creating something living and lasting to hand on to future generations.”
At the pinnacle of the project will be 60 special Diamond Woods - each 60 acres - with hundreds of smaller Jubilee Woods also being created. The Woodland Trust is now looking for landowners to plant a Diamond or Jubilee Wood on their own land, with tree planting taking place from autumn 2011 until the close of 2012. The Trust will offer tree planting advice and, in some cases, funding to landowners, while also providing thousands of free Jubilee tree packs to communities and schools across the UK.
Patrick Cregg, director of the Trust in Northern Ireland, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Jubilee, while creating valuable habitats for our precious wildlife.” He continued: "We can only make this exciting and ambitious project happen with everyone’s help; and we really hope that local people - individuals, organisations and businesses – will be inspired to take part and create a lasting woodland legacy.”
The Project will commemorate the 2012 Diamond Jubilee, marking Queen Elizabeth II's 60th year as monarch. Next to Queen Victoria in 1897, she is the only British sovereign ever to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee.
Jubilee Woods is part of the Trust's 'More Trees, More Good' campaign, launched last year, which aims to double our native woodland cover over the next 50 years.
The Trust now offers a range of activities to inspire, support and enable organisations, schools, community groups and individuals to plant trees. To find out more, please contact the Woodland Creation team on 08452 935 689 or visit www.MoreTreesMoreGood.org.uk/jubilee
Notes to editors
For media enquiries contact:
Kaye Coates at the Woodland Trust’s Bangor Office on 028 9127 5787; email kayecoates@woodlandtrust.org.uk or
The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121; email media@woodlandtrust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust:
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters.
The Trust has three key aims: i) to enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees ii) to protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future iii) to inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free.
Here in Northern Ireland the Woodland Trust cares for 51 woods. These woods contain a mix of recently planted woodland, mature woodland and ancient woodland (that’s land continuously wooded since at least 1600). We have recently produced the first-ever comprehensive record of Northern Ireland’s ancient woodland; find out more at www.backonthemap.org.uk