Edinburgh Tree on Shortlist for 2025
The 'Wilfred Owen Sycamore' grows in the grounds of Edinburgh Napier University, formerly Craiglockhart War Hospital when the poet was treated there for shell shock in 1917.
Owen met and was inspired by fellow poet Siegfried Sassoon at the hospital, and wrote his most famous poems there, before returning to France in 1918, where he was killed in action.
When a large branch was removed for safety in 2014, instrument maker Steve Burnett made a violin from the wood to commemorate 100 years since the start of World War I and honour Owen's memory.
The violin has Owen's pre-war poem 'Written in a Wood, September 1910' inscribed inside it.
The sycamore is one of ten inspiring 'cultural trees' shortlisted for the Woodland Trust's annual Tree of the Year competition, supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery.
The shortlist was announced by Dame Judi Dench, Woodland Trust Patron, who said: 'Our oldest trees hold more stories than Shakespeare — some were putting down roots long before he began writing, more than 400 years ago.
'They are as much part of our heritage as any literature.'
The shortlist features trees of differing ages and species, with nine selected by a panel of experts and a wildcard from the public.
The winner, to be announced in September, will represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year finals.
Nominees were chosen along the theme 'Rooted in Culture', highlighting how trees are ingrained in the UK's cultural landscape.
The Wilfred Owen Sycamore is one of two Scottish trees listed, along with the 'Argyle Street Ash', which is this year's public wildcard nomination.
The 75-ft tall ash in the front garden of 1223 Argyle Street – on Franklin Terrace – was the first tree in Glasgow to receive a Tree Preservation Order and has become a symbol of resilience in the city.
It has survived Victorian industry, the Clydeside Blitz and recent redevelopments while also avoiding killer diseases such as ash dieback.
Other trees on the shortlist include 'The Beatles' cedar tree' in West London, which featured on the Fab Four's Nowhere Man EP cover, and a solitary beech on Salisbury Plain known as 'the Lollipop Tree', which featured in the final scenes of the war film '1917' .
Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People's Postcode Lottery said: 'We're delighted our players are supporting this year's Tree of the Year competition.
'These trees have witnessed key moments in history, provided solace to war poets, been a supporting artist in a blockbuster film, and inspire reflection and creative photography as the seasons change.
'We're looking forward to seeing which one the public votes as the winning tree.'
Voting is open until 19 September here.
In 2017 instrument maker Steve Burnett created the Wilfred Owen violin from the branch of a sycamore tree standing in the grounds of the Craiglockhart building, now part of Edinburgh Napier University, to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War in 2014. Owen and Sassoon would have walked in the grounds of the hospital a century ago and known many of the trees still to be found there and this was the second violin to be created in memory of the war poets from the same branch.
Photo George Anderson WTML
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Edinburgh Reporter
a day ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
Edinburgh Tree on Shortlist for 2025
A sycamore tree linked to a famous war poet is in the running to be named the UK's Tree of the Year 2025 – and people in Edinburgh can help by voting for it. The 'Wilfred Owen Sycamore' grows in the grounds of Edinburgh Napier University, formerly Craiglockhart War Hospital when the poet was treated there for shell shock in 1917. Owen met and was inspired by fellow poet Siegfried Sassoon at the hospital, and wrote his most famous poems there, before returning to France in 1918, where he was killed in action. When a large branch was removed for safety in 2014, instrument maker Steve Burnett made a violin from the wood to commemorate 100 years since the start of World War I and honour Owen's memory. The violin has Owen's pre-war poem 'Written in a Wood, September 1910' inscribed inside it. The sycamore is one of ten inspiring 'cultural trees' shortlisted for the Woodland Trust's annual Tree of the Year competition, supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery. The shortlist was announced by Dame Judi Dench, Woodland Trust Patron, who said: 'Our oldest trees hold more stories than Shakespeare — some were putting down roots long before he began writing, more than 400 years ago. 'They are as much part of our heritage as any literature.' The shortlist features trees of differing ages and species, with nine selected by a panel of experts and a wildcard from the public. The winner, to be announced in September, will represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year finals. Nominees were chosen along the theme 'Rooted in Culture', highlighting how trees are ingrained in the UK's cultural landscape. The Wilfred Owen Sycamore is one of two Scottish trees listed, along with the 'Argyle Street Ash', which is this year's public wildcard nomination. The 75-ft tall ash in the front garden of 1223 Argyle Street – on Franklin Terrace – was the first tree in Glasgow to receive a Tree Preservation Order and has become a symbol of resilience in the city. It has survived Victorian industry, the Clydeside Blitz and recent redevelopments while also avoiding killer diseases such as ash dieback. Other trees on the shortlist include 'The Beatles' cedar tree' in West London, which featured on the Fab Four's Nowhere Man EP cover, and a solitary beech on Salisbury Plain known as 'the Lollipop Tree', which featured in the final scenes of the war film '1917' . Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People's Postcode Lottery said: 'We're delighted our players are supporting this year's Tree of the Year competition. 'These trees have witnessed key moments in history, provided solace to war poets, been a supporting artist in a blockbuster film, and inspire reflection and creative photography as the seasons change. 'We're looking forward to seeing which one the public votes as the winning tree.' Voting is open until 19 September here. In 2017 instrument maker Steve Burnett created the Wilfred Owen violin from the branch of a sycamore tree standing in the grounds of the Craiglockhart building, now part of Edinburgh Napier University, to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War in 2014. Owen and Sassoon would have walked in the grounds of the hospital a century ago and known many of the trees still to be found there and this was the second violin to be created in memory of the war poets from the same branch. Photo George Anderson WTML Like this: Like Related
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on the cultural life of trees: we must protect our natural heritage
If the mindless felling of the Sycamore Gap tree has taught us anything, it is that there is no such thing as 'just a tree', as one of the perpetrators, Adam Carruthers, told the jury. 'It was almost as if someone had been murdered,' he said of the ensuing public outcry. For many it was. Animism runs deeply through our relationship with arboreal life. From Macbeth's prophetic Birnam Wood to the towering Ents in The Lord of the Rings, trees have long been personified in literature. And, from Constable's bucolic Suffolk to David Hockney's Yorkshire wold, they have helped shape Britain's artistic landscape. This cultural heritage is being celebrated by the Woodland Trust UK Tree of the Year 2025. The Sycamore Gap tree won in 2016. The shortlist, announced this week, brings together William Wordsworth and the Beatles, Virginia Woolf and Radiohead, all united by the trees they have helped put on the UK's cultural map. The Tree of Peace and Unity in County Antrim, where the Good Friday agreement was signed in 1998, also makes the list of 10 culturally remarkable trees. British history is written in its trees: the ancient Ankerwycke Yew at Runnymede, where Henry VIII is rumoured to have courted Anne Boleyn; the Royal Oak in Shropshire, which hid the future Charles II; and the Tolpuddle Martyrs Tree in Dorset. Like the rings in their trunks, over centuries trees become the keeper of stories. They also, of course, provide paper on which to read them. This is ingeniously encapsulated in The Future Library by the Scottish conceptual artist Katie Paterson. Starting with Margaret Atwood in 2014, each year a manuscript by a different novelist is buried in Oslo's Nordmarka forest. In 2114, 100 books will be published out of the 1,000 specially planted pine trees. In fairytales and crime fiction, forests signal danger, but they are also places of sanctuary and renewal, hence the ancient Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku or forest bathing. Peter Rabbit finds safety in a burrow at the bottom of a tree. They also promise adventure and character-building, as in Robin Hood and the ethos behind Scandinavian forest schools. We learn to anthropomorphise arboreal beings from an early age: Enid Blyton's Magic Faraway Tree and JK Rowling's Whomping Willow are characters in their own right. Trees have very human qualities: they can learn from past traumas, such as droughts, and they make good 'parents', allowing their seedlings just the right amount of sugar through their roots. But they cannot protect them from global heating and disease. New research has revealed that saplings in British woodlands have been dying at an alarming rate since 2000. As much as 70% of ancient woods in the UK have been lost or damaged in the last 100 years. After the destruction of the Sycamore Gap tree, and the 500-year old oak in Enfield near a Toby Carvery restaurant this year, the government has set out much-needed plans to give legal protection to older and culturally important trees in England. Our ancient woodlands are irreplaceable. We must protect them as they protect us. As Woodland Trust patron Judi Dench put it, our oldest trees 'are as much part of our heritage as any literature'. They should be cherished and celebrated. In the words of WH Auden: 'A culture is no better than its woods.'
The Independent
16-07-2025
- The Independent
Elusive purple emperor butterfly sighted at National Trust estate
An elusive species of butterfly, which is the second largest in the UK, has been sighted at a National Trust estate. The purple emperor, with a wingspan of around 8cm, was sighted at Sheringham Park in Norfolk in June during a weekly survey to monitor butterfly populations over time. The National Trust said sightings at the estate had dwindled in recent years, but that it has now seen an increase – bringing renewed hope for the species. The purple emperor, second in size only to the swallowtail, was spotted in Norfolk in 2016 following a 50-year absence. Sheringham Park was believed to be the location of a breeding colony in 2018, but after a last sighting in 2021 things appeared to have 'gone quiet' until this summer. A purple emperor was discovered in a butterfly transect at the estate in June this year, and staff and volunteers have since reported further sightings. Male purple emperors have a stunning purple sheen on their upper wings, while females are typically brown with white markings. Despite their colourful appearance, they are elusive as they spend a large amount of time high up in the tree canopy. Butterfly enthusiasts have been known to try to lure males down from the canopy with banana skins and even shrimp paste, according to the Woodland Trust. Rob Coleman, of the National Trust's Sheringham Park, said: 'This a magnificent butterfly, second only in size to Norfolk's famous swallowtail. 'It was exciting to see the first one back at Sheringham Park in 2016, after it had been absent from the county for the best part of 50 years. 'At the time, some people were sceptical that a breeding colony had been established, but small numbers of sightings in the subsequent years supported this theory. 'However, things had gone quiet on the emperor front recently, and with our last sighting in 2021 and the establishment of populations elsewhere we thought 'His Majesty' had moved on. 'So, I was utterly delighted to see a handful of male purple emperors soaring again in an oak canopy on one of our weekly butterfly transect surveys.' The estate's ancient woodland, with oak and sallow trees, is vital for the purple emperor's lifecycle. Early indications from transects elsewhere in the country show numbers of purple emperors on track to potentially beat 2018, which was the last record year, the National Trust said. The conservation charity said that shifts in temperature and weather patterns can impact both the butterfly's breeding cycle and habitat suitability. Naturalist and nature writer Matthew Oates said: 'This is indeed proving to be a record purple emperor year. 'Hibernating larvae survived the winter very well, with unusually low predation rates. 'Then larval development was assisted by the fine spring. 'The weather was reasonable during the crucial pupation period, and now the butterflies are benefiting from fine midsummer weather. 'So, it's win, win, win, win – and all after a ghastly year for butterflies and other insects last year. Emperors are turning up all over the place, including in the Yare valley downstream of Norwich.' It is possible that rising temperatures could lead to this butterfly moving further north in the future, the National Trust said.
