Whitley CDA is honoured to be chosen to receive the “Tree of Trees” from The Queen’s Green Canopy. We would be delighted if you could join us on Wednesday 16^th November for this special event.

The gift of a tree is a ‘thank you’ for all the valuable and tireless work that volunteers and individuals undertake for the benefit of their communities. It is a celebration of the diverse communities that come together for the benefit of all, often using the natural environment to improve health and wellbeing 

Whitley CDA is delighted to receive a special tree from The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) “Tree of Trees” which stood tall as a message of hope, regeneration and optimism to the nation and the world as part of the Platinum Jubilee weekend celebrations. 

Whitley CDA joins over 300 organisations from across the UK who were recently announced by the QGC as recipients of these special trees in The Queen’s name, which are gifted in a pot embossed with Her Majesty’s cypher. 

Presented by Lord Lieutenant James Puxley, the tree will be planted on Wednesday 16^th November at South Reading Community Hub.

The tree becomes part of the living legacy in honour of Her Majesty, joining over a million trees already planted across the UK as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy. 

We are thrilled to be chosen for our contribution to the Whitley community. Whitley CDA was established in 2013 to work with local people for local people. Originally funded by Local Trust we are now working to be a self-sustainable organisation, that supports and encourages local people to get involved, to make the changes and improvements they want. As a result of our working with the community from our base at the Community Cafe, we have earned the title “the beating heart of Whitley”.  In 2021 Whitley CDA was honoured to receive the Charity of the Year award from Pride Of Reading. Whitley CDA works on a number of projects with the local community, these include; our food surplus project, the community cafe, health awareness events, providing advice & guidance and access to democracy to name just a few. 

The ceremony will take place at 10am with a light refreshment buffet to follow. 

Elizabeth Grugeon

Chair of trustees 

Whitley Community Development Association 

The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a UK-wide tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee. The QGC initiative has been extended to the end of the planting season in March 2023, to give people an opportunity to plant trees to honour Her Majesty.

Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, the QGC “Tree of Trees” sculpture sought to put the importance of trees at the heart of this historic milestone to celebrate Her Majesty, who planted over 1,500 trees all over the world throughout her 70-year reign. 

During the summer, the trees were cared for by Barcham’s Nursery ahead of distribution at the start of the planting season in October. 

The trees will be gifted evenly across the UK in proportion to the population, with each county receiving at least one tree. The Lord Lieutenants of each county, who are His Majesty The King’s representatives, have been championing the QGC locally and have selected the recipients of the special trees. 

The Queen’s Green Canopy is a not-for-profit initiative. For more information please visit:

www.queensgreencanopy.org