A 70ft living sculpture made from 350 British native species to stand outside Buckingham Palace as a centrepiece for London’s historic celebrations
An artist’s impression shows how the 70ft structure, made up of small trees in aluminium pots ‘sprouting’ from timber-plank branches, will tower over the palace gates during the four-day bank holiday weekend in June.
It will form a centrepiece of celebrations at the palace, which will include a live pop concert to be held in front of 10,000 people.
The sculpture was announced on Friday which was Earth Day, with the Prince of Wales also marking the occasion with an environmental project for children.
The ‘Tree of Trees’ sculpture, created by British designer Thomas Heatherwick, reflects the planting of more than a million Jubilee trees as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC).
The initiative, which spans two official tree-planting seasons, has already seen thousands of people planting Jubilee saplings across the UK to create a canopy of green in tribute to the monarch’s 70 years of service to the nation.
The trees that make up the sculpture will be gifted to community groups and organisations at the start of the next planting season in October.
Royal tree-planting has long been a staple duty for the Windsors and is usually used to commemorate official visits.
During her reign, the Queen has planted more than 1,500 trees across the world.
Mr Heatherwick, whose past designs include London’s Coal Drops Yard and office buildings for Google, said it was an ‘honour’ to work on the project.
He said: ‘The structure, created from 350 British native trees and recycled steel, is coming together from workshops and nurseries across the country as one part of an incredible community campaign that’s literally changing the landscape of our nation.’
The Canopy Project improves our shared environment by planting trees across the globe. Since 2010, EARTHDAY.ORG™ has planted tens of millions of trees with The Canopy Project, working worldwide to strengthen communities.
EARTHDAY.ORG works with global partners to reforest areas in dire need of rehabilitation, including areas with some of the world’s communities most at-risk from climate change and environmental degradation. We have also conducted broad tree planting in the wake of environmental disasters.
REFORESTATION MAP
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the world’s forests have lost about 20% of their coverage. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, about 7.3 million hectares (18 million acres) of forest are lost every year, and roughly half of Earth’s tropical forests have already been cleared.
EARTHDAY.ORG recognizes that planting billions of trees across the world is one of the biggest and cheapest ways of taking CO2 out of the atmosphere to tackle the climate crisis. Not only do forests act as carbon sinks, but they also provide vital habitat for animals and ecological services for humans, such as purifying the air we breathe and regulating local temperatures.
Responsible reforestation programmes can stabilize land from erosion or natural disasters, improve soil health and groundwater recharge, promote native and endemic fauna, and provide economic development for nearby communities.
EARTHDAY.ORG understands that reforestation is one of the most important and accessible ways that people can contribute to solving the challenges of climate change and is committed to continuing The Canopy Project and investing in responsible reforestation programmes internationally.
Our planting locations are selected to have a direct and positive impact on areas affected by climate change. We work hard to ensure our programs also benefit the people and communities who live near the new trees, and often plant tree species that produce fruit, nuts, or other resources that help people.
Our projects typically include the growing of saplings in nurseries for 6-12 months before planting, as well as pruning and maintenance of trees for the first couple of years of their lives. This helps us maximize the number of trees that survive to maturity. In most cases, nursery and maintenance staff are local workers who gain valuable skills that help them serve as responsible stewards of the restored habitat.
EARTHDAY.ORG will also partner with technical organizations and government agencies near planting sites to provide forestry and maintenance training to local workers, allowing them to gain valuable skills to continue reforestation projects
Casting seeds on the ground without a plan for growing and nurturing the trees over time is a practice that may be inexpensive but has been shown to yield low tree survival rates and is viewed as environmentally and socially less effective by EARTHDAY.ORG. Instead, we work closely with on-the-ground community groups that are trained and committed to nurturing these trees to maturation for life spans that often reach 100 years or more.
Like people, trees are subject to diseases and threatened by poor planting methods and changing climate conditions. These challenges must be anticipated in order to ensure maximum survival of healthy trees.
EARTHDAY.ORG has planted trees for nearly 20 years, with plantings located on every continent except Antarctica. Currently, our planting locations are focused in the Mt. Elgon region of Uganda, foothills of the Himalayas in India, forests near Sierra Gorda in Mexico, and a recent project now underway in Madagascar.
We are always on the lookout for planting locations and partners who are committed to responsible reforestation programmes.
With so many areas of the world in need of reforestation, EARTHDAY.ORG has to consider many factors when selecting a single location for plantings. After a thorough investigation to ensure that on-the-ground planters can report accurately on projects, we consider the following factors:
Urgency to protect biodiversity Threats to the location from climate change or environmental disasters Development of the local community Cost-effectiveness and accessibility
On top of these factors, we must consider the long-term impacts of reforestation at our locations. We try our best to support and grow our planting projects over multiple years, and rely on trained staff to continue stewarding reforested land and to look for new projects in the area that would conserve biodiversity and uplift communities.
Tree planting costs vary by location with planting in developed countries such as the U.S. typically more expensive. For The Canopy Project, EARTHDAY.ORG can often plant one tree for as little as $1, while in some areas those costs can be significantly higher. Donations directly covers the purchase of materials, time spent growing in nurseries, long-term maintenance, as well as the operating costs that allow us to carry out and expand our programmes.
Our projects are not certified for any current carbon market. While our primary reforestation focus is empowering local communities and restoring habitat, every tree planted becomes an important part of our greater quest to mitigate climate change. Once a tree reaches maturity, we use the universally accepted standard of 48 pounds of carbon dioxide sequestered per tree per year to estimate the amount of carbon The Canopy Project has removed from the atmosphere.
Can my company plant trees with EARTHDAY.ORG?
Of course! Tree planting is a critical activity that can help businesses achieve their SDGs and contributes to your corporate responsibility and sustainable leadership. And it’s a good thing to do!
If you are representing a company interested in planting trees with EARTHDAY.ORG, or wish to work on a special project with us, please email sponsorship@earthday.org
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Tree Weaver 