SCOTLAND is to have 20 new woodlands with a total of one- and-a-half million new native trees to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
More than 2500 acres of trees – equivalent to four times the size of Edinburgh's Holyrood Park – will be planted north of the Border as part of the UK's largest single woodland-creating exercise.
The Diamond Woods project will see 60 new woodlands – one for each year of the Queen's reign – across the UK.
From Stornoway to Stirling, and from Dunbeith to Dalbeattie, Scotland's new native woods will each be at least 60 acres in size.
The Queen herself is creating a Diamond Wood on Balmoral Estate.
The Woodland Trust Scotland has worked with a wide range of landowners to create the Diamond Woods.
These include local authorities such as Stirling Council, public bodies including the Ministry of Defence, community and private owners and the conservation charity Trees for Life.
Woodland Trust Scotland director Carol Evans said: "We're delighted Scotland is playing such a big part in the jubilee woods project.
"Each of the 20 woods in Scotland has a special character and they take in an amazing range of settings, from wild places such as Corrour to urban areas like Cumbernauld.
"Each wood will make a big difference to the local environment and help pay a lasting tribute to Her Majesty the Queen."
Ms Evans added: "It is fantastic that across the UK so many different organisations and landowners have joined with the trust to create 60 very special Diamond Woods.
"By the end of the project millions of people will have taken part in planting trees, making this one of the biggest celebrations of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee."
As well as the prestigious 60 Diamond Woods, the trust has also confirmed that more than 250 smaller Jubilee Woods will be planted across the UK.
This will help achieve the trust's ambitious target of planting a total of six million trees in 2012, at least one million of them by children.
The demand to take part has been so popular that the trust has also secured six further 60 acre-plus sites.
It is now looking for more landowners to help in creating a total of 25 Princess Woods – to recognise the years before Her Majesty became the Queen.
From November, the trust will give people the chance to attend free tree planting events at Diamond and Jubilee Wood sites across the UK.
Schools and communities can still apply for free tree packs to plant in autumn and winter, while individuals can take part by planting a tree in their garden or by donating money to plant the trees.
Everyone taking part will be listed in the new Royal Record of Tree Planting, which will be presented to the Queen at the end of the project.
The announcement comes as HRH The Princess Royal officially opens the trust's flagship Diamond Jubilee Wood in Leicestershire.
The new wood's name will be revealed, along with the designs for the woodland.
Lead corporate sponsor of the Jubilee Woods Project, Sainsbury's, will bid to raise £1.5m for tree planting over the next 15 months by increasing the number of donations made from products in store.
A pledge scheme will also be unveiled.
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