Many of our fab celebrity supporters have lent their support to our Ancient Tree Hunt - a quest to find and map the UK's oldest trees.
Clive Anderson
We’re asking people to look out for and record trees which are particularly old, fat and gnarled so obviously I am just the person to get this message across. The sort of size we are after is an oak, or any other tree, which is so big that it would take you and at least two or more friends to hug it all the way around, finger tip to finger tip. It is a rough and ready way to do the measuring, and at a stroke it turns you into tree-huggers.
Seriously, these ancient trees have helped to shape our history. They are important, not only in themselves, but also because they are home to hundreds of other species of wildlife. Putting these trees on the map will mean that we can better safeguard them for future generations. Anyone can help to do this. Perhaps you pass a great old tree every day, perhaps it has a great story. So next time please make a note and tell us about it.
Bill Bryson
Ancient trees are nature’s own antiques. They are valuable pieces of our natural heritage and provide a living link with the past. It is estimated that Britain is home to around 80% of Northern Europe’s ancient trees, making our landscape unique, but without knowing where they are there is a greater risk that they will be lost and forgotten.
The Ancient Tree Hunt is a wonderful way for people to get involved in finding these treasures, mapping them and helping to secure their future for the enjoyment of future generations.
Jilly Cooper
Trees are the most beautiful things in the world. When I worry about being 70, I look up at the glorious beeches, oaks, ashes and particularly sycamores in Gloucestershire, and think why should I worry about my age when something so glorious is so much older than I am?
Trees provide inspiration and shelter, and thank goodness the Woodland Trust has kicked in and raised the profile of the importance of trees. You can help them by taking part in the Ancient Tree Hunt, a sort of ‘treasure’ hunt that will map our oldest, fattest and most treasured trees, and is the first step in the protecting them for the future.
Chris Beardshaw
Ancient trees tell us much about our past. Through them we can glimpse a landscape seen by Robert the Bruce or even Alfred the Great. Old, fat and rotten they may be, but these remarkable trees help give the countryside its unique character.
Tom Avery
As a mountaineer and polar explorer I have been fortunate enough to have traveled to some of the most remote and breathtakingly beautiful corners of the world. However, we should not forget the amazing treasures we have right on our own doorstep – ancient trees.
Ancient trees are among the oldest living things on the planet and here in the UK we are very lucky to have about 80% of Europe’s total number. Yet how many of us walk past one every day without even noticing? You can help the Woodland Trust by joining in the Ancient Tree Hunt – get out and explore our parks and countryside and who knows, you could rediscover a 1000-year-old tree with a fantastic story behind it.
Prunella Scales
Ancient trees are wonderful natural monuments, and it’s vitally important we care for them so they can be part of our future as well as of our past.
To find out more about the Ancient Tree Hunt and how you can take part visit the website
www.ancient-tree-hunt.org.uk