Bedfordshire residents urged to plant a tree for the Queen's Jubilee

Bedfordshire Lord-Lieutenant Helen Nellis is urging everyone in the county to embrace their green credentials and plant a tree to celebrate the Queen' s Platinum Jubilee.

Her office is supporting the Queen's Green Canopy initiative, which will see huge numbers of celebratory trees spring up throughout the nation.

She said: "I hope you're as enthusiastic as I am and will contribute to this momentous legacy project which will establish a long-term heritage for future generations while supporting the green agenda and climate change.

"It would be wonderful to see the involvement of our schools, colleges, universities, community groups, faith groups, businesses, farmers - indeed everyone!"

She added: "Our aim is to encourage people in all parts of our beautiful county, both rural and urban, to become involved, be it a single tree in a garden, a community group-sponsored specimen tree or a significantly large, planted area.

"One hundred years from now, Bedfordshire children will play under the branches of the trees we have planted and smile."

Three saplings which were blessed at her recent thanksgiving service in Bedford will be planted at Chantry Primary School in Luton on November 15. There will also be a council-led ceremony at Lewsey in December. Local authorities are working closely with experts from the Forest of Marston Vale

The Lord-Lieutenant also asked anyone planting a tree to pick a suitable site, care for it well and register it by 'pinning' it on the Queen's Green Canopy map on the official website - https://queensgreencanopy.org