More than 28,000 trees are being planted across the South Downs in memory of the late Queen as part of an effort to fight climate change with woodland creation.
Scores of trees will be planted at more than 30 sites across the national park, with 18 in Sussex.
More than 12,000 trees were planted last winter, with a further 16,000 being put in the ground this winter as part of the Trees For The Downs and Queen’s Canopy initiative.
The planting is restoring trees lost to pests and diseases, including ash dieback and Dutch elm disease, as well as creating new habitats for wildlife and amenity value for local communities.
Sonia Lorenzo-Martin, who oversees woodlands in the national park, said: “These life-giving trees are a fitting tribute to the memory of her late Majesty and all her years of public service to the country.
“Trees provide clean air for us to breathe, enrich our soils, provide vital habitat for wildlife and crucially are amazing carbon capturers in the fight against climate change.
“Around a quarter of the South Downs National Park is already wooded, so adding to that even more across the region is a very exciting prospect for our nation’s climate action.
“Every scheme counts and it could be that we help provide a blueprint for woodland creation that’s replicated across the UK.”
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The new trees will be a mixture of disease-resistant elms and native species such as oak and black poplar. They will be planted at schools, farms, recreation grounds and historic parks.
Almost £200,000 has been raised by South Downs National Park Trust, the official independent charity for the park, with the Trees For The Downs campaign hoping to raise £260,000 to plant 100,000 trees over the next few years.
It comes as a new interactive mapping tool revealed potential to create even more woodland across Sussex.
A study, covering the entire county and Hampshire, found almost 23,000 hectares of land is suitable for creating woodland, with 5,500 hectares in the national park.
The potential new area of woodland, twice the size of Manchester, could store almost 38 million tonnes of carbon dioxide after a century.
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