The Forest of Memories are honoured and excited to announce that The Forest of Memories project has been given it’s first backing and support from Westminster. On Wednesday 16th December 2020 an Early Day Motion (EDM) was tabled in Parliament by Dr Lisa Cameron MP in support of the Forest of Memories project.
To-date, The Forest of Memories project has had support from 1000’s of people and local council level politicians. The support from Dr Lisa Cameron MP, and the tabling of the EDM, represents a significant step forward in gaining national support for the Forest of Memories project. This support is an important milestone for the project to establish a network of memorial forests around the UK.
We are honoured by the support that Dr Lisa Cameron, together with the other MP’s in Westminster, are giving to the Forest of Memories. We look forward to working with them next year and welcome any assistance they can provide in establishing the planned network of Forest of Memories. We believe that this support will be invaluable in ensuring that we can create a fitting tribute to all those impacted by this Pandemic.
What is an Early Day Motion?
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Early day motions (EDMs) are motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons for which no day has been fixed. As there is no specific time allocated to EDMs very few are debated. However, many attract a great deal of public interest and media coverage. EDMs are used to put on record the views of individual MPs or to draw attention to specific events or campaigns. Topics covered by EDMs vary widely. By attracting the signatures of other MPs, they can be used to demonstrate the level of parliamentary support for a particular cause or point of view.
The Early Day Motion tabled by Dr Cameron reads as follows:
“That this house supports the need for a focus on the emotional and mental wellbeing of communities as the UK recovers from the effects of the covid-19 Pandemic; recognises the importance of national remembrance for all those people who tragically lost their lives; understands the need for sustainable places of reflection for the bereaved and for people whose mental health has been affected; and supports the initiative of The Forest of Memories that achieves these objectives by creating a network of forests across the UK in memory of people adversely affected during the covid-19 pandemic, whilst addressing climate change, benefiting biodiversity and establishing an educational and cultural resource for local communities.”
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See full details of the Early Day Motion and the MP’s who support it
If your MP isn’t on the list yet, contact them and urge them to support the Early Day Motion!
Who is Dr Lisa Cameron MP?
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Dr Lisa Cameron is a Scottish National Party MP for East Kilbride, Stathaven and Lesmahgow, and has been an MP continuously since 7 May 2015. She currently undertakes the role of Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Mental Health).
Dr Cameron was born in Glasgow, and grew up in East Kilbride. She obtained a BSc in Psychology from the University of Strathclyde, an MSc in Psychology and Health from the University of Stirling and a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Glasgow. Before entering politics, Dr Cameron worked as a clinical psychologist.
About The Forest of Memories
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The Forest of Memories is a project established with the vision of bringing people together to support the planting of a network of Memorial Forests around the UK. We will plant, at a minimum, a tree for every life lost during the pandemic. Anyone can dedicate a tree in a Forest of Memories to a loved they lost during the pandemic, there is no charge for this. It is our sincere hope that this will help the bereaved create a lasting gift of remembrance, in a special place to visit, for years to come.
We believe that in planting The Forest of Memories it will grow a fitting and lasting tribute to those who died during the pandemic. But the forests will also be designed in a way that will help us all remember those whose mental wellbeing was impacted in other ways during the pandemic, and celebrate those who helped us overcome adversity.
Our vision is that the Forests of Memories will continue to benefit future generations when this pandemic is a distant memory. They will help to fight climate change and support UK biodiversity, and (through the forest’s unique design) they will become an educational and cultural resource for local communities that also creates ‘Green Jobs’. The forests will be a lasting legacy from this generation to the next as part of our national recovery from this Pandemic.
