Local volunteers took part in two community tree planting events at Rosliston Forestry Centre earlier this month as part of National Tree week and to cap off the Council's successful free tree planting scheme.

The free tree scheme and planting are also being used to help celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in June 2022 as part of Queen's Green Canopy Project.

The planting undertaken will help create a new wildflower meadow and hedgerow at the centre and was carried out by the Council's Environmental Education Project team and around 70 corporate volunteers from Derbyshire Law Centre and Rolls-Royce PLC - who have worked on the project since it started in September.

An enormous 'ER 70' motif was seeded with wildflowers in the grass to give it that Jubilee feel next year.

Around 1,600 trees have been bought or donated for the project and a Tree Council Grant (Green Recovery Fund) of £2,500 enabled the purchase of biodegradable mulch mats and tree guards to protect the baby trees.

Arcus Global, who work with the Council's IT and Planning Departments donated 100 Alder Buckthorn trees and their Head of Marketing came to one of the days and planted some of the trees with Councillor Malcolm Gee, Chair of the Council.

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) and the Woodland Trust also supported the project, providing 1,000 free trees between them.

Rosliston Rangers will be completing the project over the winter and are looking forward to showing off the results and celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in the spring.

Other plans which residents can get involved with are planned - with the first one being a further ceremonial tree planting day in February 2022.

The planting was the culmination this year's successful free tree scheme which resulted in 26 community groups taking part and nearly 300 households applying with close to 800 trees requested.

Councillor Malcolm Gee, Chair of the Council who helped out with the tree planting said: "Yet again our free tree scheme has proved very popular with residents.

"I would like to thank all our residents, volunteers, staff and our partners that took time to get involved in the scheme and planting days, as the results will prove to be a fitting and fantastic tribute to support Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

"I am very excited to see the finished results next year."

The trees for this year's scheme have flowers or fruit coloured red, white and blue and were chosen in conjunction with the National Forest Company who provided a £500 grant towards the cost of the trees.

The link for people to ''add'' their tree to the virtual Queen's Green Canopy Jubilee Map can be viewed HERE