Warwickshire County Council and the Warwickshire Lieutenancy are encouraging people to get involved in The Queen’s Green Canopy.
Warwickshire County Council and the Warwickshire Lieutenancy are encouraging individuals, schools, community groups, and businesses to get involved in The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC), a unique tree planting initiative to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.
This week, Warwickshire’s Lord Lieutenant took part in the latest QGC tree-planting ceremony in the county with Sea Cadet Petty Officer Chloe Reading at Snitterfield Village Hall. The planting of a new Cherry tree and a Mountain Ash tree were supervised by Ed Holmes of Snitterfield Tree Action Group (STAG), and the event, alongside a showcasing of the Village Hall’s latest major refurbishments, was attended by over 70 guests.
The Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, Mr Tim Cox, who is the Queen’s representative in the county, said:
“The Queen’s Green Canopy is a brilliant project and a wonderful way to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, which celebrates a remarkable 70 years on the throne - the longest of any monarch in this country. This exciting scheme means many individual trees will be planted, but will also generate, we hope, more ambitious schemes such as new woodlands.
“The traditional British planting season runs up until the end of March, and trees can still be planted as part of the QGC project until the end of the year, so there is still time for people to ‘plant a tree for the Jubilee’, or to plan their planting projects as a community group, school, business, or organisation.”
Reflecting on Her Majesty the Queen’s official Platinum Jubilee date that took place earlier this month, Mr Tim Cox adds:
“I would like to extend my sincerest congratulations to The Queen on achieving her official Platinum Jubilee on Sunday 6 February 2022. Throughout my lifetime, including since becoming Warwickshire’s Lord Lieutenant from April 2013, she has continued to serve our country for over seven decades, and this amazing achievement as our longest reigning Monarch is unlikely to ever be repeated.
“This extraordinary milestone is also a great opportunity for local communities to get together to celebrate this wonderful achievement, especially as the power of our communities working together is such a strong part of Warwickshire life.”
With a focus on planting sustainably, the QGC celebrates Her Majesty’s 70 remarkable years of service, and will create a legacy in honour of The Queen’s leadership of the Nation. Anyone can get involved in planting a tree for the Jubilee, or mark the occasion with a physical or virtual commemorative plaque in keeping with the environmental focus.
Cllr Heather Timms, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and the Environment, said:
“We hope as many people as possible will get involved in this fantastic project. The challenges we face through climate change are unprecedented and can only be overcome through a concerted effort to minimise our carbon footprint.
“Planting trees is a wonderful positive step to take, as trees produce oxygen and help remove harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while creating beautiful, uplifting outdoor environments and providing new habitats for wildlife.”
The best time to plant a tree is during the traditional planting season, which happens from early October to the end of March each year. To get involved in planting a tree over the next few weeks during peak planting season, or to set-up a commemorative plaque for the QGC, visit https://queensgreencanopy.org/get-involved/, and remember to add your tree to the QGC map which will be presented to Her Majesty the Queen as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations: https://queensgreencanopy.org/map-education-hub/qgc-map/#/
Alongside the QGC, Warwickshire’s Lord Lieutenant is also encouraging local communities, groups, authorities, organisations, businesses and more to register to take part in a national lighting of the beacons event that will take place during the official Platinum Jubilee weekend from the 2 to 5 June 2022. Further information about this event and how to get involved is available at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/2436/light-a-beacon-in-2022-to-celebrate-the-queen-s-platinum-jubilee
To plant a tree for The Queen’s Green Canopy, and to find out lots of tree-planting advice and recommendations, visit https://queensgreencanopy.org/get-involved/
To request a Lord Lieutenant special guest appearance for a QGC tree-planting ceremony, email the Warwickshire Lieutenancy at lieutenancy@warwickshire.gov.uk
For more information about how Warwickshire County Council is facing the challenges of human-influenced climate change, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/theclimateemergency