THE villagers of Aylburton are being urged to come and plant their own Jubilee trees in a brand new 'forest' donated to the parish by Lydney Park Estate.
And planting one of the initial cornerstones for the magnificent 2.5acre amenity on Friday was little Iona Bathurst, just six months old, with the help of her mother Shera.
"It was always our hope that we would give something to the village for the millennium, but this didn't come together in time so we now feel it should be the Golden Jubilee Forest," said Iona's father Rupert Bathurst, son Viscount Bledisloe.
The family-owned estate is keen for anyone who has ever had any association with the estate or the village to come forward and plant their own special part of the Forest, he said.
When grown it will have two magnificent 10-metre wide intersecting avenues of lime trees with a gathering point in the middle at the highest part of the land, which lies to the side of the main A48 road with views across the River Severn and a backdrop of estate farmland and woods.
The rest of the planting will be in native broadleaf trees, and Iona's contribution is a beautiful wild cherry.
"All of the plantings will be recorded in a ledger with the person's name and this will be kept in parish archives for anyone to come and look. It should be nice in years to come for people to look in it and say 'that's my tree', and future generations will also be able to trace their relatives' contributions," said Rupert Bathurst.
He said he was also keen for the amenity to become a relaxing and peaceful reserve which local people would use – all the plantings have been designed so that a tractor and mower can be driven between the rows.
The marking out of the new forest and selection of trees has fallen to head woodman Brian Reece, who will also play a part in its upkeep.
Also present at the planting were parish council vice chairman Mike Prakel and parish councillor Alan Edwards.
Anyone who wants to plant a tree should contact the Lydney Park Estate office.