Princess Anne plants oak tree at Diamond Jubilee Wood (From York Press)

Princess Royal plants oak tree at Diamond Jubilee Wood, University of York

8:54am Wednesday 19th September 2012 in News

A new piece of woodland was the scene of a royal reception.

The Princess Royal was the guest of honour at the opening of the Diamond Jubilee Wood at the University of York ’s Heslington East campus yesterday, in her role as patron of a project which aims to plant six million trees across the country to mark a milestone in the reign of her mother, the Queen.

The university is the only site in North Yorkshire to have a Jubilee Wood, with 60 having been opened around the country, one for each year the Queen has ruled. More than three million trees have been planted through the project, 33,000 of which will form the York wood on Kimberlow Hill.

Showing a touch of Olympic spirit by donning her Team GB sunglasses, Princess Anne planted an oak tree as she declared the wood open. Most of the 10,000 trees which have still to be added will be planted this autumn, and a community action week in November will help to complete the scheme.

Elizabeth Heaps, the university’s pro vice-chancellor for estates and strategic projects, said: “Working with colleagues at the Woodland Trust, we believe we are creating something very special at Kimberlow Hill, which will help inspire a love of trees and woods for many generations to come.”