The Queen's Green Canopy at Royal Holloway, University of London

The Queen's Green Canopy is a unique tree-planting initiative to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

Groups across the UK will be encouraged to enhance our environment by planting trees from October 2021. Schools can get involved and are provided with free trees to plant via the Woodland’s trust

Find out more at The Queen's Green Canopy website

Activities from Royal Holloway

In school and on-campus activity for KS4 & KS5

To celebrate this unique scheme Royal Holloway, University of London, will be delivering activities designed to engage pupils with trees in their grounds and ecosystems. Dr Deborah Harvey (Lecturer, Biological Department and leader of the Schools Biodiversity Project) will deliver sessions in school or on-campus with interactive, outdoor activities exploring areas within the KS4 & KS5 biology curriculum

This is a fantastic opportunity to bring Biology to life
Below are a few ideas, but activity depends on location and habitats
Royal Holloway can deliver on off or repeated sessions that include long-term research projects
Suitable for years 10-13

Actvities can include:

Activity	Brief Description	Curriculum Link
Tree identification survey	Multi-session with surveys carried out in autumn repeated in spring/ summer	Identification.
Leaf miners and galls	Identifying leaves affected by leaf miners and galls and the larval stages and mine patterns.	Predation, parasitism adaptations, surveying techniques, statistical analysis, data presentation.
Lichens	Species present distribution on trees links to pollution, sun screening effect.	Symbiosis, photosynthesis, adaptations to environment, chromatography,
Wet holes	Exploring wet holes in trees as a habitat.	Identification, trophic levels, adaptations to the environment.
Decomposers	Exploring the fungi structure and structure and associated species.	Nutrient recyclers, carbon and nitrogen cycling, food chains, global warming, fruiting times.
Leaf litter	Examining for invertebrates	Identification of invertebrates, food chains, classification