DUDLEY primary school pupils have planted 600 trees to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Pupils at Dudley Wood Primary School planted their mini forest on land adjacent to the school on March 4 as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy project, which invites people from across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee.”

The children were joined by school staff, the Dudley Council’s green care staff and wardens from the Saltwells Team, The Friends Of Saltwells and the Prince's Trust trainees.

It comes as the council has already committed £50,000 to increase canopy coverage across the borough, including planting trees along the borough’s highways as well as increasing canopy coverage in six wards which have less coverage. 

Councillor Karen Shakespeare, cabinet member for public realm, said: “We’ve committed to investing £50,000 to boost the borough’s canopy coverage and we’re really pleased to expand our planting plans through projects like the Queen’s Green Canopy.

“It’s really important that the younger generation feels included in these projects and I’m delighted that we’ve worked with Dudley Wood Primary, the Friends of Saltwells and The Prince’s Trust to make this event happen. It just shows how much we can achieve when we all work together.”

Wendy Rickers, Assistant Head & Curriculum Lead, Dudley Wood Primary, added: “We were delighted to be invited to take part in this initiative. One of the key concepts that threads through our curriculum is sustainability, so this is an excellent opportunity for our pupils to learn more about this, working as part of our community to improve our local environment.”

Everyone is 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.