To mark the Queen’s Jubilee, the United Synagogue and the Office of the Chief Rabbi are collaborating with the Woodland Trust as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy project.
We aim to plant some 37,000 trees over three years – one for every adult member of the United Synagogue. Buy your tree right now via www.theus.org.uk/trees.Trees cost £20 each and can be bought in any number.
Every tree will be planted together in allocated United Synagogue groves within a new woodland in Norfolk, creating a unique Jewish environmental legacy. The wood can be visited by all and will be a fantastic future educational resource for our youth and wider community.
Trees will be selected, planted and maintained by the Woodland Trust to maximise the ecological benefits and preserve our groves as a place that can be visited and enjoyed.
Communities which collectively buy more than 750 trees will have theirs planted in a specially allocated grove named after their shul.
Trees can be bought as gifts, in someone else's name or as a memorial. Confirmation and a downloadable certificate will be provided for every purchase. Click here to buy your tree!
Launching the initiative, the Chief Rabbi said: "Planting trees goes to the heart of what our Dorot projects are about. Doing so helps to safeguard our planet for future generations. Unlike other changes we can make for the sake of the environment, where the onus is on refraining from doing something, this initiative provides us with a positive way to take action for the future of our children, and our world. Whether you wish to mark a simcha, commemorate a loss, express your gratitude to Her Majesty the Queen, or for any other reason, planting a tree is an admirable, environmentally conscious act, from which we all benefit."
The Woodland Trust's Eithne Tynan told us: "We are delighted to be working with you on this important initiative. Native woods and trees are one of the best ways to tackle the climate crisis: they lock up carbon, reduce pollution and flooding, and support people, wildlife and livestock in adapting to the impacts of climate change. Along with improving our quality of life, trees can help to make us physically healthier and improve our mental wellbeing. We can't wait to welcome the Jewish community to visit the woods they have helped create in beautiful Norfolk."
'Plant a Tree for the Jubilee' is the latest project from Dorot, the ambitious environmental initiative launched by the Office of the Chief Rabbi and the United Synagogue earlier this year.
Following Dorot’s first campaign to phase out disposables, a quarter of United Synagogue shuls have already gone disposables-free with an additional 17% working towards that aim this year. The United Synagogue headquarters is now a disposable-free site.