Sapling from Platinum Jubilee ‘Tree of Trees’ welcomed to Welland Park

The rowan sapling is one of the five trees from the Platinum Jubilee ‘Tree of Trees’ sculpture to be planted in Leicestershire in honour of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

The tree was gifted in a special pot embossed with The Queen’s cypher and is planted with a smaller rowan sapling provided by Harborough District Council. The aim is to grow smaller rowan trees in the pot and then gift them to the parish councils in the district once they are established. Every year, this will be repeated.

The trees are part of the living legacy in honour of HM Queen Elizabeth II, joining over a million trees already planted across the UK as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy - an initiative to plant trees to mark the Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

In attendance to mark this special occasion were: The Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire, Mr Mike Kapur OBE; Chairman of Harborough District Council, Cllr Neil Bannister; Vice-Chair of Harborough District Council, Cllr Rani Mahal; Leader of Harborough District Council, Cllr Phil King; Leader of the Opposition at Harborough District Council, Cllr Phil Knowles; and Cabinet lead for open spaces, Cllr Jon Bateman. Also, Cllr Barbara Johnson and Cllr Geraldine Whitmore as Ward Councillors for Welland Park and Liz Elliott, Interim Chief Executive, Harborough District Council.

Mr Mike Kapur OBE, Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire said: “I was asked to nominate five deserving recipients for the Tree of Trees and I felt that Welland Park was certainly one of them. It is a vital and much-loved part of the local community, and I felt it important that one of HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Trees be planted here.”

Mr Neil Bannister, Chairman of Harborough District Council said: It is an honour to receive this special rowan tree which proudly commemorates Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee and celebrates Her Majesty’s loyal and dedicated service during her 70-year reign. Welland Park, which has already won awards for its horticulture and native wildflower areas, is a perfect place to host this gift as the sapling represents a national message of hope, regeneration and optimism.

The sapling has been planted by the Covid Memorial Tree, in an accessible location, just off Welland Park Road.

Rowan, silver birch, and alder trees are among the five trees selected to come to the county. The five trees were among 350 saplings that formed the 69-foot-tall Tree of Trees sculpture in front of Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.

The other recipients who have been chosen to receive the trees are LOROS, Rainbows Hospice, Bradgate Park Trust, and Abbey Park in Leicester.

Picture courtesy of Andrew Carpenter