Queen's honours Staff Survey 2023 commitment during National Tree Week
To mark National Tree Week, 26 native saplings have been planted at Malone Playing Fields on behalf of the 26 areas that achieved a response rate of 70 per cent or more in the Staff Survey.
People and Culture and the Staff Forum worked with the University Sustainability team to pledge a commitment that the University would plant a tree for each area that achieved a response rate of 70 per cent or more in the Staff Survey. This pledge was made in line with the University’s commitment to sustainability and ensured that colleagues’ responses to the survey would make a positive impact on the environment by enhancing our biodiversity.
Staff Forum representatives championed this initiative, encouraging colleagues within their areas to complete the survey and grow their response rate. In total, 26 areas achieved a response rate of 70 per cent or more, and 26 trees were planted on Monday 27 November to mark National Tree Week 2023.
National Tree Week takes place annually across the UK and provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of trees in preserving urban nature. These saplings started life as acorns collected from Belvoir Forest and were cared for by local residents and The Conservation Volunteers at Lennoxvale Tree Nursery, which was formed in 2019 on a vacant brown field site within Queen's Campus.
Representatives from our Staff Forum, Marelle Crawford and Natasha Sharma, lent a hand along with Professor Michael Alcorn, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor, to plant the trees into their new home.