The February Moment: planting trees to celebrate the Jubilee

February 6th 2012 marks the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne. To mark this historic occasion the Woodland Trust is inviting people to celebrate by helping to plant one million trees. The planting of one million trees this February is part of a year-long campaign that will see six million new trees planted across the UK in 2012 as part of the Woodland Trust's Jubilee Woods project.

At the Woodland Trust we anticipate that during the February Moment over 2,000 community tree packs will be planted, with more than 500 acres of woodland created across large 60-acre Diamond Woods and smaller Jubilee Woods. There will also be 150,000 trees planted either by members of the public in their garden or by partner organisations. Supporters of the project include many local authorities, well-known estates such as Burghley, and tree-planting enthusiasts such as Dame Judi Dench, the multi-award-winning film stage and TV actress, and champion of Jubilee Woods.

Members of both Houses of Parliament are also playing a crucial role in lending support to Woodland Trust. Opportunities range from encouraging the participation of local landowners and local authorities, to fronting local community planting events, with free tree packs supplied to help ensure that communities within their constituencies benefit from the opportunity to increase their local tree cover.

In particular, we are inviting MPs and peers to join the celebration by sponsoring the planting of a tree for £20 within a special Parliament Grove at the Woodland Trust's flagship Diamond Wood site in the National Forest, Leicestershire. So far many parliamentarians have taken the opportunity to sponsor a tree in the Parliament Grove and we will be using the February Moment to encourage many more MPs and peers to join us in creating a lasting environmental legacy to mark the Jubilee celebrations on behalf of Parliament.

According to a Chinese proverb, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the next best time is now. The National Ecosystem Assessment published last year also recognised the innate value of our woods and trees: 'Woodlands provide the highest identified number of ecosystem services including regulating climate, air quality and water flows, providing timber and other wood products as well as a range of cultural benefits'.

Hopefully the Jubilee Woods project will provide a catalyst for the planting of many more trees, which will provide a lasting environmental legacy and act as a spur to reverse the decade-long decline in the rate of tree planting.

If you are an MP or peer and would like to sponsor a tree in the Parliament Grove please contact Lorna Templeton at: lornatempleton@woodlandtrust.org.uk