The Jubilee weekend gave the nation a wonderful four day holiday with lots of fun and games across the UK – must say they did put on a good show! However, it was an event that not only celebrated a pretty remarkable woman but also sent out quite a few other messages. One which resonated with a theme in this collection of photographs was that of the importance of trees.
The Queen’s Green Canopy initiative was developed for the Platinum Jubilee and invited people from across the UK to plant a tree for the jubilee, as well as dedicating a network of 70 Ancient trees to celebrate her Majesty’s 70 years of service. A million trees have already been planted as part of this initiative.
As well as this we all saw the ‘Tree of Trees’ being erected outside Buckingham Palace and illuminated after the Trooping of the colour. This 21 metre high sculpture designed by Thomas Heatherwick was made up of 80 steel branches that held 350 trees in pots. This great piece of ‘natural’ sculpture encompassed a proud team of welders, designers, fabricators and arborists from across the UK, to create this final piece. From the tree pots and steel for the sculpture which came from a steel works in Yorkshire to the 350 trees for the sculpture, which came from Cambridgeshire . This temporary sculpture will stay up for two weeks and then all the trees will be taken back to the Cambridgeshire nursery to wait until October planting, where each one will be gifted to communities across the UK.
We all know a tree hugger and the love they have for trees, and you know I think there could be something in this. They certainly do seem to have a pretty powerful effect on many and when you listen to the facts, it does seem trees really can talk to each other! Photojournalist David Hicks highlighted the power of trees on his travels. ‘So there are quite a number of trees in Thailand, that have what can only be described as colourful scarves tied around them. Why you may ask? Well, the Thai’s believe that some trees have spirits in them. The spirits are said to be female and generally friendly unless you really annoy them. But scarves, clothes and offerings are said to keep them at peace and happy. However of course some monks just put the scarves up to prevent certain tress from being cut down. Sweet! ‘ Shame it’s not that simple in this country when they bulldoze through for new developments!
So whether you enjoyed the Jubilee of not, there’s no denying the Queen certainly highlighted our need for trees and the need to make people think about the environment and how we can help improve the future. This kind of artistic creative energy is always so welcome and quite honestly something we all need to embrace as much as possible .
Written by: Lisa Freeman
lisa@quitegreat.co.uk
After twenty-five years as an experienced arts PR, Lisa is now further expanding her focus within the art world to develop PR and Marketing campaigns within all sectors of arts and culture, from art galleries to exhibitions, as well as individual artist campaigns and charity art foundations.
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