inc Queen's Green Canopy and Jubilee Beacons
Visit this page, from time to time, to keep up to date with Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee (70 years) arrangements and initiatives as they are announced. Already here are details of two major projects 'The Queen's Green Canopy' and 'Queen's Platinum Jubilee Beacons'
Accession Day is in February 2022, but the focus of celebrations will be in late spring / early summer 2022, with an additional Bank Holiday announced, to create a four day weekend 2-5 June 2022.
Here is the most recent letter, to all local authorities, from Michael Gove Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Issued on 6 January it will have reached your Chief executive, but may not have filtered through to civic office yet: DLUHC-Platinum-Jubilee-letter-January-2022.pdf
The commemorations are being arranged jointly with The Royal Household and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
NACO will work with our established contacts in these organisations, to ensure members are well informed.
Here are details of major initiatives already announced - all of which can engage with civic heads both for 2021/22 and 2022/23, as planning for their success can start now. The first involves tree planting, which will be best done from now until the end of March. NACO has its own initiative set for 11 March, which cannot succeed without your support so read on please.
The Queen’s Green Canopy
The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a unique, UK-wide, tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, by inviting people to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee.” Everyone from individuals to Scout and Guide groups, villages, towns, cities, counties, schools and corporates are encouraged to plant trees from October 2021 when the tree planting season begins, through to the end of the Jubilee year in 2022.
With a focus on planting sustainably, the QGC encourages the planting of trees to create a legacy in honour of The Queen’s leadership of the Nation, which will benefit future generations. As well as inviting the planting of new trees, the QGC will dedicate a network of 70 Ancient Woodlands across the United Kingdom and identify 70 Ancient Trees to celebrate Her Majesty’s 70 years of service.
Tree planting season - October to March
The QGC will encourage everyone to learn more about the best way to plant trees so that they survive and flourish for years to come. Trees and hedgerows must be planted with care, at the right time of year, in the right place and with species that are not prone to prevailing tree diseases. The QGC initiative will encourage planting during the official planting season, October to March, to optimise the chance of trees surviving and flourishing. We are now in the heart of that planting season, so give real thought to how you can be involved. NACO has done some thinking for you, by suggesting a national tree-planting day by civic heads - to take part on 11 March, the seventieth day of Her Majesty's Jubilee Year. Details of how to take part are set out below.
From October, all planting projects can be uploaded onto an interactive map on the new QGC website so that everyone can share and inspire others, as well as creating a green canopy of projects to cover the country. The map is embedded within the QGC website.
Lasting Benefits
This initiative is not just for areas where there are already green open spaces.
The aim is to see new planting everywhere: within crowded and congested inner cities as well as in suburbs and rural settings and in ways that involve people of all ages, from every faith and embrace all parts of every community. The Canopy Project seeks to promote a model of stewardship through which local communities can bring more trees into public spaces. The act of planting and caring for a tree can be an effective way of increasing awareness of the environment around it.
Now is the time to encourage your Civic Leaders to begin thinking about what they can do to make this initiative a success in their own communities.
How Your Mayor or Chairman Can Play A Part
Now is the time to build on previous conversations with your Mayor or Council Chair. Enthuse them and help them to appreciate the part they can play. Encourage them to use their influence. This will be one of the most enduring contributions they can make during their year in office. As they are out and about in the coming weeks there will be opportunities to talk about The Queen’s Green Canopy, rallying enthusiasm and support amongst all those they meet.
Your Mayor or Council Chair might like to:
- Post messages on social media saying something like 'Great to hear about @QueensGreenCanopy. Hope that everyone will get behind it and start planting, now that we are in the midst of the planting season.'
- potential hashtags might include #queensgreencanopy #plantatreeforthejubilee #jubileetree #qgclaunch
- write to Council colleagues and encourage them to make sure your Council is taking part;
- speak to local schools and get the children on board to do their bit;
- contact local scout and guide groups to bring them on board;
- use social media to promote the scheme to local residents’ groups, amenity groups, faith groups and local charities;
- find out what local businesses can do to sponsor tree planting;
The on-line map opened last October, showing where the Jubilee trees are being planted. Your Civic Head can play a valuable part in making sure your local area has its share of dots on that map.
NACO Tree Planting Day - Friday 11 March
NACO is hoping that as many civic leaders as possible will all, on the same day, plant a tree to mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The day chosen is Friday 11 March 2022 - the seventieth day of the year in which The Queen marks the seventieth anniversary of her accession. It has the full support of the The Queen’s Green Canopy project organisers.
Many Councils are already giving the Canopy project their support and have started to plant or will be planting trees. This Civic Tribute does not need to be yet another new planting. If trees are about to go into the ground, perhaps the last one can be held back until 11 March, when it can be planted by your Civic Head, as his or her tribute to The Queen in Her Majesty’s Jubilee Year, which begins during their term in office.
It would be great if as many Council Chairs, Lord Mayors, Mayors, Lord Provosts and Provosts could take part, drawn from parishes, towns, districts, boroughs, cities and counties across the UK. In fact, it is essential that a good number take part or this just won’t work.
What is needed at this stage is simply an indication that your Council is likely to take part. To do this just email events@naco.uk.com with the name of your Council and saying ‘yes, we are hoping to take part / yes, we will take part’.
Towards the end of January we will contact you and at that time we will ask for some more information. We will then prepare a bound book that will include (alphabetically) the names of all Councils taking part, with the name of the person planting the tree alongside the office they hold, the type of tree planted and a few words saying where it was planted. The book will then be sent to The Queen, probably for the Platinum Jubilee weekend in June.
There are close to 11,000 parish, town, district, borough city and county councils in the UK. If just half of them take part, the equivalent of a small forest will be planted on Friday 11 March. If all of them take part, it will be close to a world record for a simultaneous tree-planting!
For all of this to happen, NACO needs your help. Please do all you can to make it a success.
Queen's Platinum Jubilee Beacons
Long time collaborative partner of NACO, Pageantmaster Bruno Peek - LVO OBE OPR, is building on the success of previous Jubilees, with an ambitious Beacon Lighting initiative on Thursday 2 June 2022. Bruno is quick to acknowledge that the support of local authorities, particularly through civic office, is key to the success of the beacon initiatives.
A comprehensive 'Guide to taking part' has been produced, with every piece of information you are likely to need. It is attached here. Make sure you are up to speed on this one and get your council involved. Updated editions will be published periodically - will the next have your council listed?
The most recently announced initiative is to plant a circle of seven trees around the site of the beacon - one for each decade of Her Majesty's reign.
This links the Beacon initiative to Queen's Green Canopy and will be a contribution to the environmental aims of any civic head.
20 May is the last date to register your beacon and Bruno requests the following information for each one please:
Name of Country:
Name of County:
Name of Parish:
Name of Council:
Name of Contact:
Email:
Beacon Location:
Public or Private Beacon:
Thinking ahead to Street parties there is a link here to a recipe for beacon tart and an appeal for choirs to perform a special piece