Pembroke Park Primary School selected to receive a Queen’s Green Canopy Celebration Tree

Pembroke Park Primary School in Salisbury is one of only 69 schools across the country selected to receive a Celebration Tree as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC).

The Celebration Tree, an Oak tree, was planted on the school playing field on Tuesday 5th October. A Time Capsule was also buried - filled with items chosen by the children to represent day to day life in 2021.

Pupils at the school were joined for the planting by the Lord-Lieutenant, the Vice Lord-Lieutenant Mr William Wyldbore-Smith, the Mayor of Salisbury Cllr Caroline Corbin, The High Sheriff of Wiltshire Sir Charles Hobhouse, and the Chairman of Wiltshire Council Cllr Stuart Wheeler.

Year six pupils, Sophie Lock, Maria Radu, Harry Gault and James Conio read a poem about trees and the whole school sang National Anthem and the song ‘Power in Me’. They then enjoyed a tea party wearing the party hats they made themselves.

The Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Mrs Sarah Rose Troughton said, “The QGC is a unique tree-planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites people across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee.

“The QGC is encouraging all schools to get involved in planting Jubilee trees, with free tree packs available through the Woodland Trust and The Conservation Volunteers. In addition, it is gifting Celebration Trees to selected primary schools in areas of socioeconomic deprivation in 69 cities across the UK and I am delighted that Pembroke Primary School was selected to receive one of these trees.

“The QGC Celebration Trees initiative is part of the QGC’s education programme which seeks to inspire young people as the future custodians of the UK’s green spaces, forests and woodlands. It aims to highlight the educational aspects of trees and the significance of giving young people access to nature, encouraging wider engagement with the QGC across the school curriculum".

Mrs Sara Wilkinson, Headteacher said, "We are delighted to have been chosen for this tremendous honour to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in this way. The children and staff are very excited about the legacy this will leave for the whole school community.

“The tree will be cared for by the school Eco Committee who will be posting regular updates about its progress on school blog. We aim to create an area around the tree that will become a space for reflection and listening to stories for years to come".

From 1st October all Jubilee trees can be added to the QGC Map, which will create a digital record of the green canopy of tree planting projects across the country.

The QGC encourages tree planting to take place from October to March, to optimise the chance of trees surviving and flourishing.