The Queen’s Green Canopy ‘Tree of Trees’ Sculpture to Celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

London, U.K. — A spectacular 21-metre “Tree of Trees” sculpture featuring 350 British native trees will be created outside Buckingham Palace as an exciting centrepiece of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend celebrations in June.

Designed by British architect Thomas Heatherwick, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the sculpture reflects the joyful Jubilee tree planting which has swept the nation as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC), inspiring over a million trees to be planted during its first season, from October to March.

The sculpture seeks to put the importance of trees and nature at the heart of this historic milestone to celebrate Her Majesty, who has planted over 1,500 trees all over the world throughout the course of her 70-year reign.

The 350 trees will be set in aluminum pots embossed with Her Majesty’s cypher. After the Jubilee weekend, the trees will be gifted to selected community groups and organisations to celebrate their work and inspire the next generation of tree planters across the nation. The trees will be carefully stored during the summer ahead of distribution at the start of the planting season in October. Further details on the selection process will be announced in due course.

The Queen’s Green Canopy is working to help green our cities, renew the countryside and bring communities together. Working with partners, a key element of the QGC includes a programme to support urban greening projects in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation and low canopy cover. With trees at the heart of his urban designs, Thomas Heatherwick is an architect whose work reflects this theme, with a mission to find innovative and sustainable ways to integrate trees into cities and communities.

The sculpture is made from reclaimed steel with materials and expertise sourced from local suppliers up and down the country, from Cleveland and Hull to Cambridgeshire and Hove.

Alongside the staging for the “Platinum Party at the Palace” the sculpture will form part of the BBC’s live broadcast of the weekend celebrations, which includes The Queen’s Birthday Parade and The Platinum Jubilee Pageant.

The project builds on a range of community-based initiatives supported by Bloomberg in the run-up to The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The River of Hope, an education programme inspired by environmental conservation and restoration, will see young people from across the Commonwealth create designs that will be printed onto silk flags to form part of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant. Over 20 million seeds will also be sown in the moat at the Tower of London as part of Superbloom, a spectacular floral display to celebrate the occasion.

For over 35 years, Bloomberg has supported major community, cultural, arts and education projects throughout the UK. From its European headquarters in the City of London, Bloomberg’s 4,000 employees have collaborated on community-led initiatives to help give back to the cities in which they live and work.

Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P and Bloomberg Philanthropies said:
“Bloomberg is glad to support this inspiring installation celebrating what’s possible when communities come together to build a brighter future. Trees bring so many immediate and long-term benefits, and our foundation has been helping communities around the world plant more of them, including London, our company’s second home. We’re looking forward to seeing this partnership with The Queen’s Green Canopy and a brilliant designer, Thomas Heatherwick, come into bloom.”

Thomas Heatherwick, Designer of the Tree of Trees, said:
“It’s an honour for us to be making the Tree Of Trees. The structure, created from 350 Brit- ish 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 Queen’s Green Canopy is a charitable initiative. The “Tree of Trees” sculpture has been supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Background:
Materials have been sourced wherever possible from local suppliers within the United Kingdom to minimise transportation, energy use and waste.

• The sculpture is made from 86.5% old steel and 13.5% new steel. The design has been optimised to maximise the use of old surplus steel, keeping the level of embodied carbon to a minimum
• The timber support structures and the deck use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) softwood joists and an FSC-certified Birch plywood with phenolic upper surface
• The spun pots use 2mm hydro-aluminium sheet (Grade 1050) with lightweight 100% recyclable embossed logos

The Queen’s Green Canopy:
The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee. All across the UK people are being invited to “Plant a tree for the Jubilee” to create a legacy in honour of The Queen’s leadership of the nation, which will benefit future generations.

With a focus on planting sustainably, everyone from individuals to Scout and Girlguiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporates will be encouraged to play their part to enhance our environment by planting trees during the official planting season between October to March. Tree planting will commence again in October 2022, through to the end of the Jubilee year.

As well as inviting the planting of new trees, The Queen’s Green Canopy 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.

By inviting everyone to plant considerable numbers of new trees throughout the country, the QGC seeks to highlight the significant value of trees and woodlands as nature’s simple but highly effective way to clean the air we breathe, slow the impact of climate change, create important wildlife habitats and improve our general health and wellbeing.

• 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 QGC is a voluntary and inclusive initiative which is open to participation by everyone in the UK.
• The QGC is a symbolic gift which involves the voluntary dedication of forests and woodland – there is no land/title transfer.
• The QGC is a not-for-profit initiative, which has not received Government funding.

Further information about the QGC is available: www.queensgreencanopy.org

The Queen’s Green Canopy Partners:
Collaboration is central to the QGC. We are proud to work with Cool Earth, The Royal Horticultural Society, The Woodland Trust, Trees for Cities, The Forest Canopy Foundation, DEFRA, The Tree Council, The Conservation Volunteers & Community Forest Trust.

The Queen’s Green Canopy – Platinum Supporters:
The QGC is grateful to the Royal Mail Group as our first Founding Partner. We are also working with Platinum Supporters Coutts, John Lewis & Partners, Waitrose & Partners, Rentokil Initial, Coupa, Regatta and Craghoppers Bridgepoint, Howdens, Johnnie Walker, McDonald’s UK & Ireland,
Bloomberg LP. Bags of Ethics by Supreme Creations is an Official Supporter.

The Queen’s Green Canopy – QGC Friends Network:
A diverse collection of groups located across the UK, our Friends Network is supporting the QGC, from planting trees to helping inspire the nation to get involved. queensgreencanopy.org/about-us/qgc-friends-network

QGC social media channels:
Instagram: @queensgreencanopy
Twitter: @QGCanopy
Facebook: @queensgreencanopy
LinkedIn: @queensgreencanopy

Hashtags:
#queensgreencanopy
#plantatreeforthejubilee
#jubileetrees

About Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 941 cities and 173 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organisation focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health.

As an environmental leader, Bloomberg supports creative-led initiatives around the world to turbocharge climate progress and engage local communities. Last year, Bloomberg employees supported this mission by planting 11,390 trees globally. This year, Bloomberg will sup- port Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations through a range of initiatives, including support for the Queen’s Green Canopy.  www.bloomberg.org

About Heatherwick Studio:
Heatherwick Studio is a design team of 200 problem solvers dedicated to making the physical world around us better for everyone. Their recent work includes the Maggie’s Centre in Leeds, Little Island in New York, Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross London, and the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, as well as Airo, an electric car that cleans the air as it drives. www.heatherwick.com

Media Contact:
Marnie Gaffney MVO
Head of Communications
The Queen’s Green Canopy
marnie.gaffney@queensgreencanopy.org
+447793266675