PUPILS from Lomond School were joined by the Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire to help them plant a tree in the school gardens recently.

The Junior 5 pupils welcomed Jill Young MBE to the school as she helped plant a crab apple tree as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative – part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations – on the last day of the UK’s official tree planting season.

The ceremony also marked the start of the pupils’ work on their John Muir award, after they learned about the types of trees the Woodland Trust advises should be planted.

On the last day of the official tree planting season in the UK, Lomond School Junior 5 pupils welcomed both the Lord Lieutenant of Argyll, Mrs Jane MacLeod, and the Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire, Mrs Jill Young MBE, to Clarendon to help pupils plant a tree in the school gardens.

Pupils assist the Lord Lt of Argyll (3rd from left) and the Lord Lt of Dunbartonshire (2nd from right) in the planting of a crab apple tree as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative.

Taking part in the Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) initiative, part of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, was the perfect way for our Junior 5 class to kick start their work on the John Muir Award; allowing them to create their own natural space within the school grounds. As preparation for the tree planting, the pupils learnt about the meaning of a Jubilee and why it is so special, as well as the types of native trees the Woodland Trust advise be planted.

Having researched the hazel, rowan and crab apple trees, J5 voted for the last of the four – and discovered during their research that crab apple trees are associated with love and marriage, something they thought made it a particularly fitting way to celebrate the Queen’s bond with the country.

Also present were Fiona Aitken and Nicola Aitken from Gilmour and Aitken Timber Merchants, who donated the tree to mark the firm’s 170th birthday – and who are also offering a tree to all their staff with children in school to encourage them to mark the jubilee and promote the environmental benefits of tree planting.

The location of the newly planted tree has been uploaded to the map on the Queen’s Green Canopy map joining the thousands of others already planted with the hope being a total of one million or more.

Fiona Aitken said: “A huge thanks to Lomond School and the J5 year group for so pro-actively embracing the Queens Green Canopy initiative for the Jubilee which Gilmour & Aitken Ltd are supporting for our 170 years birthday.

“The initiative is a really inclusive way for school year groups to be involved in learning about trees, and brings alive the small ways everyone can be involved in carbon capture, to help prevent climate change.”