OVER 12,000 trees have been planted in a national park to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
A total of 30 sites across the South Downs in Sussex and Hampshire have received new trees for the Queen’s Green Canopy as part of the "Trees for the Downs" campaign, which has seen the planting of species including oak, black poplar and disease-resistant elms.
Each tree will provide a home for wildlife and help with the national park’s dedicated nature recovery drive.
Sonia Lorenzo-Martin, who oversees woodlands in the park, said: “These life-giving trees are such a wonderful celebration of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and will be teeming with life in a few years.
“Trees are amazing, they provide clean air for us to breathe, enrich our soils and provide a vital habitat for so many birds, mammals and invertebrates.
“Planning more trees is a key component of the national park’s ‘ReNature’ drive to create more space for public wildlife to flourish.”
The park’s ReNature campaign is a nature recovery drive, aiming to create 13,000 hectares, equivalent to roughly 21,000 football pitches, of new habitat for wildlife over the next decade.
The South Downs National Park Trust is now fundraising to plant more trees this year dedicated to the Queen to continue to help nature to thrive.
The latest planting was made possible through donations from the public, as well as support from companies including Nyetimber vineyard in West Chiltington and South East Water.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here