People in a line smiling at the camera wearing high-vis & holding shovels

The Queen's Green Canopy

Following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, we partnered with The Queen's Green Canopy to develop commemorative planting activities in five towns and cities across England: Brighton, Portsmouth, Blackpool, Stockton and Ipswich. Leaving a lasting legacy for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, we planted thousands of trees across the five locations, with the help of incredible volunteers. This included whip planting to create urban woodland habitat, standard tree planting to form majestic avenues, and fruit trees for community orchards, parks, schools, housing estates and public open spaces.

Brighton, Portsmouth and Stockton were all part of our Forgotten Places programme, which focused on increasing the canopy cover of coastal areas that need it most. In Portsmouth, our planting delivered much-needed new green infrastructure to schools, enabling pupils to plant a tree and learn about the value and benefits of trees.

With Blackpool having one of the lowest areas of urban canopy cover in the UK (according to Forest Research), new tree planting as part of this project can help the town reach its 10% canopy cover target. New trees also took root across multiple sites throughout Stockton for the town’s residents to benefit from.

In Ipswich, one of our Tree Cities of the World, we are delighted that 70 standard trees planted at Murray Park have been recognised by the council as The Queen’s Avenue in Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's honour! To help plant the commemoration trees in Ipswich, communities from various walks of life came together, from the newly-formed Tree Wardens, families, local residents, friends of park groups and local businesses.

I had a great time! It was so informative and fun, and it felt so good to give back to the community and environment in this way. A great way to spend the day.

Volunteer at Brighton planting day

Thanks to our Partners

  • The Queen's Green Canopy

  • Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

  • Associated British Ports

  • Bollinger

  • The Palm Beach Institute