From Stornoway to Stirling, and from Dunbeith to Dalbeattie, 20 new native woods will be created across Scotland to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The woods are part of a UK-wide project to create 60 Diamond Woods across the country, one for each year of The Queen's reign. Each Diamond Wood will be at least 60 acres in size.
In total the Diamond Woods in Scotland will cover more than 2,500 acres (1,000 hectares), forming a collective area of woodland nearly four times the size of Holyrood Park in Edinburgh. 1.5 million native trees will be planted within the 20 woods, giving everyone the chance to create an environmental legacy in their area by helping to plant trees.
The Woodland Trust Scotland has worked with a diverse range of landowners to create the Diamond Woods. These include local authorities such as Stirling Council, public bodies including the Ministry of Defence, community and private landowners, the conservation charity Trees for Life, and even the Queen herself is creating a Diamond Wood on Balmoral Estate.
Woodland Trust Scotland Director Carol Evans said: “We’re delighted that Scotland is playing such a big part in the Jubilee Woods project. Each of the 20 woods in Scotland has a special character and they take in an amazing range of settings, from wild places such as Corrour to urban areas like Cumbernauld. Each wood will make a big difference to the local environment and help pay a lasting tribute to Her Majesty the Queen.
“It is fantastic that across the UK so many different organisations and landowners have joined with the Trust to create 60 very special Diamond Woods. By the end of the project millions of people will have taken part in planting trees making this one of the biggest celebrations of the Queens’s Diamond Jubilee.”
In addition to the Diamond Woods, over 250 smaller Jubilee Woods will be planted across the UK helping to achieve the Trust’s target of planting 6 million trees in 2012 at least 1 million of them by children. The demand to take part has been so popular the Trust has also secured 6 further 60 acre plus sites.
From November, the Trust will give people the chance to attend free tree planting events at Diamond and Jubilee Wood sites across the UK. Anyone taking part in the UK’s biggest ever tree planting campaign will be able to plant their tree for the Jubilee and take their place in history by helping to create these magnificent woods. Schools and communities can still apply for free tree packs to plant in autumn and winter, while individuals can take part by planting a tree in their garden or by donating money to plant the trees. Everyone taking part will be listed in the new Royal Record of tree planting which will be presented to Her Majesty at the end of the project.
Today’s announcement takes place on the same day (Friday 1st June) that HRH The Princess Royal will officially open The Trust’s flagship Diamond Jubilee Wood in Leicestershire.