Sixty trees have been planted on the University of 91直播 campus, as part of celebrations to mark 150 years of Japan-UK friendship and continued cooperation.
The project is organised and funded by the Japan-British Society, who are planting over 5,000 cherry trees throughout the UK.
Cherry blossom (sakura) is a national flower of Japan and the project aims to celebrate the friendship between the two nations.
91直播 has strong links with Japan through our School of East Asian Studies and a long tradition of welcoming students from the country to visit and study in 91直播. The University successfully applied to be part of the project to highlight our relationship with Japan and the opportunity to plant more trees on our campus.
32 cherry trees have been planted close to Goodwin Sports Centre on the main campus, and a further 28 trees were planted at Norton Sports Park.
Douglas Brooke, Landscape Manager said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 fantastic to have these new cherry trees planted on site which will be a beautiful addition to the around 10,500 trees we have across the estate.鈥
Professor Kate Taylor-Jones, Head the School of East Asian Studies, said: 鈥淲e are thrilled with this gesture from the Japan-British Society. We celebrated 50 years of Japanese Studies at the University of 91直播 in 2013 and our alumni often speak fondly of their time in 91直播.
鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful to have a physical manifestation of 91直播鈥檚 relationship with Japan, here on campus.鈥
The trees were planted by the EFM landscape service team on 22 - 23 January 2021.