Celebrations for Jubilee River's 20th anniversary

The Environment Agency (EA) has planted 100 trees along a stretch of the Jubilee River in Eton Wick as the channel celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

The river is just over seven miles long and was completed in 2002 to take overflow from the River Thames and alleviate flooding for thousands of nearby homes.

On Wednesday, a celebration event was held to mark the channel’s two decades of operation, where staff enjoyed cake and were presented with awards for their work on the flood relief scheme.

A series of sapling trees – 100 in total – have also been planted at Manor Farm in Eton Wick alongside the Jubilee River to boost the Environment Agency’s climate change targets.

They were also planted in memory of the late Queen Elizabeth, who passed away at the age of 96 on September 8.

A celebration of the river was previously planned for June but did not take place due to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Operations and navigation manager for the EA, Maria Herlihy, added that the monarch’s subsequent passing meant that this week’s event was toned down as a mark of respect.

“We had all the team which looks after the maintenance for the Jubilee River and those who operate it during the floods and they were recognised for their service over the last 20 years,” she said.

“We are looking at making the river net carbon zero moving forward and planting the trees is part of that.”