Caterpillar at Diamond Jubilee Wood

On Thursday 4^th June Mid and East Antrim Borough Council collaborated with Business in the Community and Caterpillar staff on a tree maintenance volunteer day on site at Diamond Jubilee Wood, Whitehead.

Business in the Community is a membership organisation for companies whose aim is to encourage companies to get involved individually and to use their skills and resources for the benefit of society and the environment by working together through collective business action. Companies involved can send staff members out to volunteer on a range of practical challenges which benefit the community and environment. 

The hard working volunteers weeded, card boarded and mulched the base of young apple, pear and nut trees in the community orchard on site. This is important maintenance for the site as it gives the young trees a better chance of reaching maturity. The team were lucky to get a sunny day and the volunteers enjoyed getting out of the office and learning some new practical skills.

Diamond Jubilee Wood, Whitehead is 60 acre woodland which was created as a living, lasting legacy to commemorate the 2012 Diamond Jubilee, marking Queen Elizabeth's 60th year as monarch. Sixty Diamond Jubilee Woods, each at least 60 acres, were planted throughout the UK to symbolize 60 years of the Queen’s reign.  Whitehead Diamond Jubilee Wood is one of these flagship woods and is the only Diamond Jubilee Wood in Northern Ireland.

In 2012 more than 1,000 children and adults helped transform an open field into this beautiful new woodland and the site was officially opened by Mrs Joan Christie OBE, Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant for County Antrim. The woodland now contains over 60,000 trees including a community orchard, 2km of paths, a 1000 square meter pond, a Commonwealth tree avenue, wild-flower meadows, a picnic area, outdoor gym equipment and a sculpture designed by a local artist and school children.