A treetop walkway which takes visitors 60ft up into the canopy for a close-up look at life among the leaves was launched officially at Kew Gardens yesterday.

The £3 million steel structure, which runs for 650ft through woodland at the Royal Botanic Gardens in West London, aims to show the importance of trees to wildlife and the climate. It is hoped that it will be the highlight of Kew's summer festival celebrating trees.

The creators of the Xstrata Treetop Walkway hope that visitors will see birds such as woodpeckers and nuthatches, and butterflies such as the purple hairstreak which lives its entire live high in oak woods. The permanent structure also includes a “rhizotron” underground exhibit to highlight the root-life of trees.

Tony Kirkham, the head of Kew's arboretum, said: “As a trained arborist I have had the privilege of being up in the tree canopy, experiencing trees at height, and birds and other wildlife from a completely different perspective.

“It's fantastic that we are able to give visitors the same experience and we hope it will make them realise that trees do matter and we need to nurture them,” he added.

The walkway will be open to the public from Saturday.

Explore Gardens

• Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

• Chelsea Flower Show

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