The Queen's Green Canopy: "I can't believe we're the first school in our area to have a tree!"
Five schools In Wales are among the first to be gifted trees from the Queen's Green Canopy as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Last updated 13th Oct 2021
The Lord Lieutenant for West Glamorgan Louise Fleet told us: "All the Lord Lieutenants across the UK were asked to nominate a primary school, preferably in a socially deprived area in each of their cities. So we were very proud and delighted to nominate Blaenymaes Primary School."
A tree planting ceremony is taking place at Blaenymaes Primary in Swansea today. The Lord Lieutenant said: "I know they are hugely excited at the prospect of getting the tree. It's going to be a very special day . As well as governors and parents, everybody closely involved with the school will be there. They have been preparing the building with bunting for the official tree planting."
Amy Smith is the year 5 and 6 teacher and also runs the Eco Ambassadors Club. During the summer the club decided to rewild the school garden and learnt about the Queen. She says: "It's such an honour for our school to be chosen to set off the celebrations for Swansea. We are very much a school of pupil voice - thee children have helped us plan what the day is going to look like. Every child should have a flag that represent themselves to show their identity. Obviously they all want crowns to celebrate the Queen."Pupils have been drawing and painting pictures of the Queen as part of an initiative by the police in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot to engage with schools. Some of the artwork will be included in a souvenir booklet that will be presented back to the school to mark the historic occasion.
Blaenymaes Primary1
10 year old Dylan Lee Davies is head boy and an Eco Ambassador, he's also a little bit of a history buff when it comes to all things royalty. He created a drawing of the Queen surrounded by her family and stood next to the tree. A star twinkles above and is meant to be the Duke of Edinburgh watching over Her Majesty.
Dylan told us: "It's really exciting, I cannot believe we are the first school in our area to have a tree. The Queen is the longest serving monarch in British history. The most amazing fact is that she became Queen when she was twenty five years old and that is kind of young for a Queen. She is very important to everyone in the UK and looks out for all of us, all the time."
The other schools in Wales nominated as part of this project are:
Pillgwenlly Primary School in Newport; The Oaks Federation Greenway Primary School, Rumney, Cardiff; Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi, Campws Dewi, St. Davids, Pembrokeshire and Ysgol Esgob Morgan, St. Asaph, Denbighshire were also chosen.
The initiative is now being extended to schools across Wales to get involved. The Queen's Green Canopy is working in partnership with the Woodland Trust’s Free Trees for Schools and Communities Scheme. Across 2021 and 2022 they have over three million saplings in tree packs, available on a first come first served basis. Tree planting season is officially October to March.
Lord Lieutenant Louise Fleet told us: " We've already had a very good response because we've been encouraged in schools since the spring to register for trees. But schools can go on to the Queen's Green Canopy website and they can see all the instructions as to how to get a tree. They come from the Woodland Trust so are very much coming from within Wales as well."
Throughout Her reign, The Queen has planted more than 1,500 trees all over the world and has spoken alongside Sir David Attenborough of the importance of trees in the Earth’s future.
The Queen's Green Canopy is also inviting everyone across the United Kingdom to 'Plant a Tree for the Jubilee.' His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who is Patron of the QGC, planted a copper beech tree at the Balmoral Estate’s historic cricket pavilion, to launch the initiative on October the 1st.