St Albans primary school pupils plant pear tree

The pupils at Margaret Wix Primacy School pledged to nurture the pear tree which they planted under the Queen's Green Canopy initiative.

Daisy Cooper, the MP for St Albans, was among the guests of honour at the tree planting ceremony to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee next year.

Representing the Queen were Robert Voss, the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, and his deputy Ian Piggott, who were joined for the planting of the pear tree by pupils from the school’s parliamentary team, which includes a minister for the environment.

Daisy Cooper MP with pupils from Margaret Wix Primary School

Margaret Wix Primary School is one of 69 schools selected from across the UK that was given a tree to plant by the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative, which aims to highlight the educational aspects of trees and the significance of giving young people access to nature.

Claire Gibbs, the school’s head teacher, said: “During the ceremony we made a pledge to look after our tree and to look after the whole environment – present and future.

“We promise to give our children the opportunity to be explorers, environmentalists, artists, risk-takers, gardeners, and ambassadors for the planet.

“The tree will be a symbol of all these things as we watch it grow.”

Tree planting ceremony

Daisy Cooper MP said: “Tree planting plays an important role in tackling the climate emergency, so it was fantastic to see the children of Margaret Wix speak so positively about this initiative and really engage with the idea of looking after and nurturing their new pear tree.”

Daisy recently co-wrote an essay on tree planting for the all-party parliamentary climate change group’s ‘Net Zero Exchanges’ project, which lays out a range of measures needed to help the country reach its climate change targets ahead of COP26.