On Monday, June 4th, members of Norfolk Sister Cities, the local British Community, the United Kingdom’s National Liaison Representative to SACT, and Norfolk City Councilman Barclay Winn planted a tree in honor of the Queen’s Jubilee.
The Norfolk Sister City Association (NSCA) announced today (June 4th)
the organization has pledged in the official Royal Record to sponsor a tree grove planting of sixty (60) trees in November at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. The “Jubilee Woods” grove will pay tribute to Her Majesty The Queen and the celebration of her Diamond Jubilee marking her sixty year reign as the British monarch. Citizens attending the public November planting will be included in the certified photograph accompanying the Royal Record historic submission. A record of each and every participant will be prepared and presented to the Queen and the Royal family, put on public display, and kept in perpetuity.
The planting has special meaning for NSCA. Norfolk is sister cities with Norfolk County, England, celebrating 26 years of their official relationship this year. Norfolk County is located in the Southeastern area of England, known as East Angelia. It consists of seven self-governed districts; West Norfolk, North Norfolk, Great Yarmouth, South Norfolk, Breckland, Broadland, and Norwich. The Jubilee Woods project at the Norfolk Botanical Garden supports the Sister Cities International motto of “Connecting Globally. Thriving Locally” and presents a win-win for all.
Today’s announcement included city, Norfolk Sister City, Botanical Garden dignitaries and a British government representative, Captain Gary Doyle, the British government’s National NATO Liaison.
This project supports the UK’s Jubilee Woods grove which is an initiative to plant 6 million trees in the UK, approximately 3 million have been planted so far this year. The initiative is organized by The Woodlands Trust, the leading charity championing native woods and trees in the UK. In 1937, six United States cities planted trees in honor of the King George IV coronation. One of the sites was in Virginia’s Westmoreland County at the grounds of The Memorial Foundation of Robert E. Lee at Stratford Hall.
For more information about the project and how you can become involved, please visit Norfolksistercities.org and nbgs.org.
