To mark the 50th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a number of tree-planting events took place across the UK during the spring of 2006.
In the Midlands, over 45 people planted a tree for the Award’s anniversary at Castle Gresley, near Swadlincote, Derbyshire, which is part of our partnership with the National Forest. They planted over 53 trees in total, which were a mixture of ash, oak and silver birch.
For some, the event was a chance to reflect on their long years of service and support for the Award; for others it was a poignant opportunity to remember friends or loved ones who had been associated with the Award. Many people stayed on after the event to have a cup of tea at the local pub and chat with old friends.
Dawn Scott, one of the event’s organisers said:
‘Two previous Midlands Award Officers were present and it was a wonderful to see the continuity which the Award inspires.’
A number of young people also attended from the Queen’s Park school. Dawn continued:
‘The young people... were very enthusiastic and had to be persuaded to stop digging because we had run out of trees!’
The North East event, took place at Brisco Wood, near Harrogate. A group of young people and leaders from Bradford and Kirklees, an Award Panel Assessor and his wife, plus the Award Officer for North Yorkshire and the Regional Advisory Chairman, planted trees there.
Sue Emmerson, Award organiser at this event said:
‘We were fortunate in that the rain held off but we did have a very strong wind. We planted oak trees on a site that had been first planted for the Millennium, the young people did a good job of tree planting and then had a walk around the site, most of which was covered in standing water. They all seem to have enjoyed themselves. We had a good mix of young people - young people from Russia - as well as young people with disabilities.’
Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Cumbria, Gloucestershire, London, Hampshire, and Essex also hosted successful events; ten were held in total.
