More than 500,000 trees to be planted with the Woodland Trust in honour of Queen Elizabeth II
Senior PR officer
More than half a million new trees and 1,000 acres of woodland will be established across the UK thanks to a ground-breaking initiative to celebrate Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
Conservation charity the Woodland Trust launched its ‘Platinum Woods’ scheme in 2022, a large-scale woodland creation opportunity for landowners taking part in The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC).
A nationwide tree-planting scheme created to mark the Platinum Jubilee, the QGC was extended until the end of March 2023 to give people an opportunity to plant trees in memoriam to honour Queen Elizabeth II.
The Trust has helped create a total of 14 life-giving Platinum Woods, including an honorary site in New Zealand, and more than 500,000 trees will be established through a combination of planting and natural regeneration.
Trust Central England regional director Toby Bancroft said The Queen’s Green Canopy initiative has been “inspirational”.
“In the face of the climate emergency and nature crisis, we have never needed trees more for all the benefits they deliver for people and wildlife,” he added.
“It’s been so heartening to work with like-minded landowners to create more than 1,000 acres of new native woodland as a significant contribution to The Queen’s Green Canopy.”
Woodland Trust ambassador Jules Acton said: “The Queen’s Green Canopy has inspired people across the UK. Schools and communities planted their grounds with the Woodland Trust’s native tree packs, boosting nature and the wellbeing of local people.
“Landowners have played a vital role creating woodland at scale, linking up our landscape. That helps the UK’s nature become more resilient to the threats it faces. While the initiative is at an end, the inspiration goes on. Visit woodlandtrust.org.uk to see ways to connect with trees, woods and the natural world around us.”
The 14 new woods:
- The Burghley Estate: A new woodland planted in the beautiful grounds of the famous 16th century Elizabethan mansion in Stamford, Lincolnshire.
- Wimpole Estate: This new 70-acre woodland was created as part of a wider project between the Woodland Trust and the National Trust to transform a working farm in Cambridgeshire into a haven for wildlife.
- Sandhills Wood: A site on the doorstep of an urban community and on the fringes of the ancient Hainault Forest in East London with royal links dating back more than 1,000 years.
- Queens Wood, Forest of Marston Vale: A new 38-hectare woodland with nearly 50,000 native trees and shrubs on the site of a Community Forest in a historic setting in Bedfordshire.
- Tidgrove Warren: A former farm with royal connections, Tidgrove was ripe for transforming into new woodland, being already on the brink of becoming a vibrant natural oasis for wildlife.
- Pepper Wood: A new extension to an ancient woodland, which will protect and buffer this important Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Malvern Hills, allowing existing wildlife to spread.
- Bestwood and Brinsley: Almost 60,000 new native trees are growing into two thriving new woodlands fighting climate change and supporting wildlife at Willey Wood Farm in Nottinghamshire, thanks to our work with the county council there.
- Glen Kyllachy: A wood that will continue the legacy of tree planting in a landscape particularly beloved by Her late Majesty.
- Isabella’s Wood, Traquair: A woodland named after the daughter of Catherine Maxwell Stuart, 21st Lady of Traquair, a keen environmentalist committed to safeguarding the long-term sustainability of the heritage at Traquair.
- Rose and Lion Wood: An arable site in Sandon on the outskirts of London, transformed into 25 hectares of vibrant young woodland named after the owner’s children.
- Thompson’s Wood: A new woodland in Norfolk providing a mosaic of habitats including broadleaf woodland, natural grassland, wood pasture, and newly planted hedges.
- A new woodland to be created in Essex.
- Taimana Forest: Inspired by HM The Queen’s love for the Commonwealth, this honorary site in New Zealand was created alongside an existing Diamond Jubilee wood in Raglan, North Island.
Notes to editors
For further information please contact Owen Phillips at owenphillips@woodlandtrust.org.uk or 07958 066766.
The Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK with more than 500,000 supporters. It wants to see a world where woods and trees thrive for people and nature.
Science shows that woods and trees combat the devastating effects of climate change: flooding, pollution, and extreme weather and temperature. They are also the ultimate carbon captors, absorbing atmospheric carbon and locking it up for generations.
The message is clear: trees are one of the best ways to tackle the climate and nature crisis.
www.woodlandtrust.org.uk #plantmoretrees
The Trust has three key aims:
- protect ancient woodland, which is rare, unique and irreplaceable.
- restoration of damaged ancient woodland, bringing precious pieces of our natural history back to life.
- establish native trees and woods with the aim of creating resilient landscapes for people and wildlife.
The Queen’s Green Canopy
The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) was a unique tree planting initiative created to mark the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. The QGC initiative was extended to the end of March 2023 to give people the opportunity to plant trees in memoriam to honour Her late Majesty.