The launch of The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) took place on Monday as part of The Royal Horticultural Society’s Virtual Chelsea Flower Show.

The QGC is a unique, UK-wide tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, by inviting people to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee.”

Everyone from individuals to Scout and Girlguiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporates will be encouraged to plant trees from October 2021 when the tree planting season begins, through to the end of the Jubilee year in 2022.

As well as being a national project, The Lieutenancy of Herefordshire is supporting The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) initiative locally. This will be rolled out across the county during the next planting season from October 2021 until March 2022.

James Hervey-Bathurst CBE DL, Chair of The Queen’s Green Canopy in Herefordshire, commented: “We will shortly be contacting local councils, schools, churches, businesses, charities, other groups and individuals across the county to encourage all to respond to the opportunity to create an impressive legacy to honour The Queen’s long reign and leadership of the nation.”

Edward Harley OBE, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire, said: “The Queen’s Green Canopy is a wonderful way to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, which celebrates a remarkable 70 years on the throne. This initiative will promote the importance of trees for the environment in a sustainable and relevant way and, it is hoped, thousands of trees will be planted across the county. We hope many individual trees will be planted, but also that more ambitious schemes may include new woodlands and avenues.”

Sebastian Bowen, Chairman of Herefordshire Council, said: “. This community initiative of planting trees in public spaces will be a proper memorial to the Queen’s long reign, and something for our county to enjoy and celebrate for years to come.”

For those who wish to support the Canopy financially they can donate to the Herefordshire Community Foundation via a dedicated page which will help fund the purchase of trees: https://www.herefordshirecf.org/the-queens-green-canopy-tree-project/