Swindon receives a special gift from the gates of Buckingham Palace
From the gates of Buckingham Palace to the grounds of Coate Water Country Park, a special tree has now found a new home in Swindon.
Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, The Queen’s Canopy of Trees sculpture consisted of 350 small trees that were supported by a steel structure built outside Buckingham Palace. Upon its completion, the trees were illuminated as part of a chain of 1,500 beacons that lit up across the UK to mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on Thursday, 2 June.
Since then the trees, which symbolise hope, regeneration and optimism, have been taken down from the sculpture and placed in a special pot embossed with Her Late Majesty’s cypher.
Each one was then gifted to various organisations across the UK and Swindon was fortunate enough to be given one of the trees as a way of thanking the volunteers who work tirelessly at the STEAM Museum to support the COVID-19 vaccination programme.
A planting ceremony took place at Coate Water Country Park today (7 November) and Councillor Abdul Amin, the Mayor of Swindon, Leader of the Council, Councillor David Renard, and HM The Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Mrs Sarah Troughton, were among those who attended.
A separate tulip tree was also planted by the Council to honour the selflessness and dedication shown by all the Borough’s key workers and volunteers throughout the pandemic.
Cllr Amin said: “It is a huge honour for Swindon to be selected as one of the lucky organisations to receive a tree and I would like to say thank you to the volunteers at STEAM for all their hard work in rolling out the vaccine and helping to keep people safe.
“The new tree will be a fitting tribute to the life of Her Late Majesty alongside the huge flower bed that has also been planted at Coate Water by our grounds team.”
Councillor David Renard, Leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “It was a privilege to be at the tree planting ceremony as we honoured both Her Late Majesty and the unstinting dedication of all our volunteers and key workers, who continue to do such a great job serving our community.
“We will be forever grateful for the role they played throughout the pandemic which was why councillors unanimously agreed to create a lasting tribute to mark their service.”
HM The Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Mrs Sarah Troughton, said: “As HM Lord- Lieutenant I was delighted to plant the handsome Alnus glutinosa [alder] at the very enjoyable ceremony.
“I know that it will thrive and be a constant reminder of Her Late Majesty's Platinum Jubilee and the Queen's Green Canopy and I am so pleased that it also honours the many volunteers who have helped with the vaccination programmes and the very real trials of the Covid pandemic.”
Each tree joins over one million trees being planted across the UK as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy, which invites members of the public to plant a tree in honour of Her Late Majesty The Queen.
The tree planting season runs until March 2023 and members of the public who would like to get involved should visit: queensgreencanopy.org
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