To mark the announcement that The Forest of Marston Vale has been accredited as part of The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy, HRH The Princess Royal will be visiting the Forest Centre & Millennium Country Park in July to dedicate the Forest into the project.
HRH The Princess Royal will be meeting members of the Forest Team and Volunteers for the charity during her tour of the Park, and will be seeing some of the work they have done first hand, before planting a tree and then unveiling a plaque in their new Forest Shelter.
The Forest joins the ranks of only three other accredited forests in the UK – the National Forest, Epping Forest and Wentwood, in Wales.
One of Bedfordshire’s Deputy Lieutenants Ruth Bell MBE JP DL largely championed the case for the Forest and said:
“I am absolutely thrilled – being a part of The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy is an amazing opportunity for future generations and puts Bedfordshire on the Commonwealth map. The seed was sown when I watched the original documentary ‘The Queen’s Green Planet’ with Sir David Attenborough and The Queen talking about her love for trees – I discussed my idea with the Lord Lieutenant about being a part of it, and the rest is history. I’m delighted for everyone that’s a part of the Forest, now and in the future.”
The Forest of Marston Vale (Registered Charity No. 1069229) covers the 61 square mile area between Bedford and Milton Keynes and has planted over 1.5 million trees to date, taking tree cover from 3% (the lowest in Europe) to over 15%. Their aim is to plant another 5 million trees, creating a greener heart of Bedfordshire.
Find out more at www.marstonvale.org or www.queenscommonwealthcanopy.org.
