SFA to host Her Majesty’s Consul General in Platinum Jubilee ceremony

NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Consul General Richard Hyde and senior staff members from the British Consulate in Houston will make Stephen F. Austin State University their first stop on a 2,500-mile road trip celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

As part of their stop, consulate staff and university administrators will host a tree planting at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6, along Aikman Drive. The Nacogdoches and campus communities are invited to attend.

In addition to promoting strategic economic, trade, defense and education collaboration between the two countries, tree plantings throughout the five-state tour are meant to implement the Queen’s Green Canopy, a global sustainability initiative to plant trees in honor of the Queen’s legacy and benefit future generations.

“It is a great honor to welcome Her Majesty’s Consul General and to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee by planting a tree together as part of the Green Canopy initiative,” said Dr. Steve Westbrook, SFA interim president. “We love the lyrics of our alma mater, ‘’Mid Texas pines we have found peaceful shrines,’ so we have long acknowledged the beauty that trees add to our lives every day.”

“With our campus’ setting among the pines, our Lumberjack mascot, the SFA Gardens and, most importantly, the programs that are a part of our Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, SFA is an ideal stop for this historic road trip around the Lone Star State and beyond,” he added.

Along with the tree planting ceremonies, the team also will host town-hall-style “pop-up consulates” in Kilgore, Shreveport, Texarkana, Amarillo, Lubbock and Waco to meet with local businesses, civic and political leaders, and other interested groups along the tour. These meetings will highlight the close economic and cultural links the United Kingdom has with the region.

For more information on the tour, contact Elizabeth Bertram, head of press and public affairs for the British Consulate General in Houston, at elizabeth.bertram@fco.gov.uk.