Ancient and Veteran trees are nature's champions! Their gnarly forms have graced our landscape for centuries, offering a home and to an extraordinary wealth of wildlife.
We're celebrating the West of England’s ancient trees with a photography competition to celebrate these remarkable landmarks and habitats.
This competition has now closed and we're very excited to share the winners with you!
Did you know there are more ancient native oak trees in England than the rest of Europe combined? One example in the Forest of Avon is the Publow Oak, that sits in Great Avon Wood, the region’s largest woodland creation project on record! This makes them an important heritage feature in our landscape. Let’s celebrate these beautiful proud trees. Notice their barks, hollow trunks and leaves to identify them.
It’s time to zoom in and notice the textures of the gnarly bark, the insects that live in the crevices, the fungus that forms on their trunks and the intricate details of these trees leaves. Change your perspective and get up close!
Take a step back from the tree and observe the space around it. Is the tree in the city centre? A wide-open field? With other tree neighbours? Or even ancient yews in cemeteries? Depending on where these trees stand, their history is unique!
Ancient trees provide a habitat for thousands of species, especially, invertebrates who thrive due to the deadwood and hollow trunks. Woodpeckers in the canopy and Foxes sheltering on the forest floor, these trees are instrumental to our most beloved woodland wildlife.
Due to Ash Dieback, a serious fungus disease that causes the health of the tree to diminish rapidly, these trees in our landscapes are threatened. We want to celebrate their presence, remembering where they were and the stories they created. With their pencil like black buds pointing to the skies, these trees are often said to be writing poems in the sky.
Look up to view the branches and leaves that these ancient trees create. You may notice their antler like branches, green leaves or buds and twirling shapes that look like its dancing.
Every year, trees move through a cycle where they shed their old leaves to grow new ones. We often identify which season we are in depending on what seasonal cycle trees are in. New growth and bright green leaves in spring and summer, the rusting of leaves in autumn and bare bark in winter, each season is special. We want to see these trees in all of their seasonal glory over the year.
How do these humble giants make us feel? Ancient trees don’t just support our beloved wildlife, but they provide us with endless benefits to our health and wellbeing, their canopy providing shade over the summer months and their endless support to our favourite wildlife. Share how you appreciate and interact with our ancient trees.
These trees are out of the ordinary and stand out due to their unique landscapes. They are characterised by their bulbous wide trunks, gnarly barks, often hollow in the trunk and small canopy compared to their young neighbouring mature trees. They can range from a staggering 150-1000’s of years old depending on the tree species and each one is unique due to the environment they are in. Look out for these characteristics on your next walk, you might spot one that hasn’t been registered!
For more information on how to find and identify ancient trees, visit The Woodlands Trust Ancient Tree Inventory
This photography competition has been made possible thanks to the Woodland Trusts Emergency Tree Fund, supporting the West of England through the Forest of Avon Trust.