Veterans' Oaks

DGS is proud to support Veterans' Oaks, a nationwide, community-led initiative to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two - historically marked as the 'oak anniversary'. Veterans' Oaks bridges past and future, uniting memory, education and commemoration with sustainability, urging us to honour history while protecting the world for generations to come. The act of planting is a tangible action of remembrance which also contributes to biodiversity, enriches our natural heritage, and helps fight climate change.

DGS will be planting and dedicating Veteran Oaks in all four Oak trees over the growing season:

  • Scotland: Operation Cairngorm

  • NI: Ashes to Gold

  • England: Northwest and Eden, Southwest

Please sign up to our events page to follow this programme.

Duchy of Cornwall logo with a shield and crown
A logo for Veterans' Oaks featuring a large green tree with two veterans, one with a cane, standing beneath it, surrounded by a circular red, white, and blue border, with the words "VETERANS' OAKS" written below in blue.

  • "I’ve been struggling with the fact I can’t do all the activities that they do. It frustrated me because I can’t bend down. But they adapt in an equitable way, which is handy. I fill in jobs others won’t do... stuff that I don’t need to kneel for. They’ve got high planters, 15ft long and I can weed away. Someone’s got to do it."

    —Veteran, Autumn 2024

  • "It does not matter if gardening is not your ‘thing’, it gives you time and space to work out what your ‘thing’ is."

    —Veteran, Spring 2022

  • "You can sit in a quiet area, and you’re not forced to do anything. It’s excellent. For a lot of people with mental health problems, having no pressure makes all the difference."

    —DGS Delivery Team

  • "I think the programme has caught my anxiety down already, to a 7, if the same things happen again by the end of [the programme], I will be a 3..it will be a miracle. The invisible medication. It's a distraction…it distracts me from my thoughts and makes me feel at one with nature and meeting lovely people."

    —Veteran, Spring 2024