More than 60 volunteers came together in Wirral over the weekend to plant the first trees in a royal environmental project.

The Queen’s Green Canopy is a tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 and invites groups, organisations and people across the UK to plant a tree during the official planting season between October to March.

The aim is that the trees planted will create a legacy in honour of The Queen’s leadership of the Nation and will go on to benefit future generations.

Cllr Liz Grey, Chair of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee at Wirral Council, said: “The council has an ambitious target to plant 21,000 trees every year until 2030 to help increase tree coverage across the borough.

More than 60 volunteers got involved over the weekend to plant the first trees dedicated to the Queen’s Green Canopy

More than 60 volunteers got involved over the weekend to plant the first trees dedicated to the Queen’s Green Canopy

"It’s great to see volunteers getting involved to help meet this goal and I’d like to thank all those that took part - especially considering the recent cold weather.

“Trees not only help to clean the air and reduce the effects of climate change by storing carbon but they help to reduce the impact of flooding and are a key part of the local environment.

"During a weekend where the storms caused a significant amount of damage to some of our trees, the planting of more than 2,000 new trees is very welcome news.”

Leasowe Playing Fields was the fifth and latest community planting to take place to help the council meet its ambitious annual targets.

The site is now home to 2,170 trees, planted by 65 volunteers on Saturday November 27, as part of Wirral’s contribution to the Queen’s Green Canopy.