GWENT Scouts has hosted a special tree planting ceremony at its Tintern campsite in honour and loving memory of the late sovereign HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Gifted by The Queen’s Green Canopy as part of a nationwide initiative, the birch tree came from the “Tree of Trees” – a spectacular 21-metre sculpture featuring 350 British native trees which was erected outside Buckingham Palace as an exciting centrepiece of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022.

These trees are now being presented to a diverse group of organisations across the UK by His Majesty The King’s Lord Lieutenants, creating a living legacy and lasting tribute to Queen Elizabeth II’s extraordinary 70 years of service.

At the Gwent Scouts Training and Activity Centre in Botany Bay near Tintern on Saturday (11 February 2023), Lord Lieutenant of Gwent Brigadier Robert Aitken CBE planted the tree assisted by three young Newport Sea Scouts.

David Davies MP and Peter Fox MS also attended the ceremony, alongside High Sheriff of Gwent Malgwyn Davies.

Monmouth MP Mr Davies, an ex-Scout himself, said: “When I think of the service Her Majesty offered to our nation over so many years, I am truly humbled and almost lost for words.

“Queen Elizabeth II was a remarkable monarch and this poignant tree planting ceremony was a wonderful way to come together and honour her memory.

“I was particularly pleased to meet up with my old Scout leader Edward Watts, who told me he expected me to be a bit better behaved then I was as a young Scout in the 1980s!

“I can’t believe it is almost 40 years ago since I used to go camping at Botany Bay, although we didn’t have the benefits of a warm cabin back in my day!”