Pinterest included in its feed Laura Tarrish's Hunter|Gatherer tree sculpture, The picture below got my attention. Made from wire, paper machier, paint, fabric and various things we wouldn't normally associate with trees.
It led to Thomas Heatherwick, UK designer and his tree sculpture - the Tree of Trees outside Buckingham Palace in celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
“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” After the celebration the 350 trees go to community groups and organizations.
The big tree project for the Jubilee was the Queen's Green Canopy - a living legacy with over 1 million trees, planted in her name across the nation from 2021 to 2022. This makes sense when you think of all the trees she planted.
And here in Canada? There must be more than a dozen trees planted by the Queen as she visited more than 20 times. The best known is the oak tree she planted in 1951 in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. There's another in Jackson Park in Windsor, planted in 1953. In 1973, the Toronto Star headline was: Queen Elizabeth wields a silver-plated shovel as she plants a silver maple tree in Ganaraska Conservation area at Cobourg today in commemoration of Conservation week.
In Rideau Hall, Ottawa, amongst the 120 ceremonial trees that have been planted by famous people, primarily heads of state, are 16 trees planted by the Windsors - that's since 1939, five of them dedicated by Queen Elizabeth.
A Daily Mail article with some then and now pictures of trees the queen had planted over the decades - the article is HERE.
So while there are pictures of the Queen planting trees, there are not many articles. This is likely a bit mundane for most people. The highlights of these 22 tours do not generally dwell on trees - they include things like:
1970: Queen Elizabeth wears a pantsuit to protect against clouds of blackflies during a stop in the Northwest Territories. DDT had recently been banned.
1973: In an unusual event to celebrate Ontario Conservation Week, the Queen is tasked with releasing 100 bass into Grenadier Pond in Toronto’s High Park.
1976: On her first day in Halifax, the Queen is serenaded by more than 100 young ukulele players on a visit to the Nova Scotia Olympic Folk Show.
