The Woodland Trust has unveiled plans to create a vast 460-acre publicly-accessible flagship wood as a national symbol to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
In its largest and most ambitious creation project since 2008 the Trust hopes the new woodland will give people across the UK access to the wonders of woodland, while creating a natural historical monument that will enable wildlife to thrive. The flagship woodland will be created as the pinnacle of the Trust’s biggest tree-planting campaign ever: Jubilee Woods, which will commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee by planting 6 million trees to create hundreds of new woods UK wide.
The Trust has launched a £3.3 million fundraising appeal to acquire the site. The wood will create a living legacy for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and add to the Trust’s commitment to double native woodland cover by 2050.
Sue Holden, chief executive of the Woodland Trust, said: “We need help to create woodland for the nation, to give everyone access to the beauty of the natural world and create a legacy for The Queen’s Jubilee. It’s a chance to celebrate the reign of one of our best-loved and longest-reigning monarchs while educating people about the need to increase woodland cover in the UK. We are one of the least wooded countries in Europe so there’s an urgent need for more trees to help double native woodland cover in the UK. We need people’s help to make this wood a reality through donations and pledges of support.”
Located in the heart of The National Forest in Leicestershire, the new wood will offer easy access for 10 million people, create valuable new habitat for the nation’s best-loved species and become the largest continuous block of woodland owned by a single organisation in The National Forest.
Not only does access to trees improve health they reduce pollution and the carbon lock-up potential from the 6 million trees (5454 hectares) the Trust aims to plant as part of the Jubilee Woods project is roughly equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide output of 1,000,000 cars.
TEl 01476 581 121
SteveMarsh@woodlandtrust.org.uk
Not only does access to trees improve health they reduce pollution and the carbon lock-up potential from the 6 million trees (5454 hectares) the Trust aims to plant as part of the Jubilee Woods project is roughly equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide output of 1,000,000 cars.