Summer hunt for fat old trees is perfect for the credit crunch DIY family holiday
The Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Hunt needs families this summer all across the UK to record a fat, old tree on our database. As a thank you for supporting our campaign to recognise our national treasures, children can claim any one of thousands of free goodies we are giving away in August.
This is an activity for all ages which is fun, free, in the fresh air and involves nothing more than a picnic, a pencil and a piece of string! We won’t send you on a fruitless search - there are cluster sites with lots of old trees on them all over the UK so log onto our website and check out the best hunting ground in your area with free public access – www.AncientTreeHunt.org.uk
The Woodland Trust began its ancient tree search three years ago. It aims to involve ordinary people in finding and mapping all the ancient and veteran trees across the UK – we’ve got thousands of them in this country, they have stood through every momentous event in our history and are home to many rare and threatened animal and plant species, yet they have no automatic government protection. They are literally irreplaceable, so the Trust is creating the first ever comprehensive living database of old trees in this country as a vital step towards protecting and caring for them.
So if you can join us this summer, here’s what to do.
Step one: log onto the Ancient Tree Hunt website and download a specially designed children’s recording sheet to take on your travels. This will act as an easy check list to get all the essential information on the tree’s location, size and appearance.
You can also download three at- a- glance cartoon illustrations by animator and film maker, Jorge Martin, to help children recognise the signs of ageing – from big, fat ‘southerners’ in good growing conditions to tiny, skinny ‘northerners’ growing in harsher climates and locations.
If parents are really organised, they can look at out interactive map on our website and check the cluster site we have suggested in your area or look for other publicly accessible ones if you wish, then log onto Google Earth and print off a photo of your hunting area.
Step two: go and find your tree and make some notes on the recording form about street names and landmarks nearby. This will help you locate it roughly on the web map when you get back; if dad wants to show off with a GPS, fine, but you don’t need one! Draw around the leaf shape (or take a photo of it) to aid species identification, tick the box which best corresponds to the height of the tree (a car, a house or a tall building), then have a good look around and inside it (if you can climb inside a hollow, it’s really old).
Finally, measure its waist in hugs! Fat trees can be very old. Write down how many child or adult hugs it takes to get around the girth. A piece of string or a dog lead gives you just as reliable a reading but is not nearly as much fun! Then sit down and enjoy your family picnic underneath the tree; you’ll be snug as a bug even in the rain.
Step three: on your return parents or grandparents can fill out our website recording form. It really is as simple as a click on our interactive map, zoom down to local or street level and plop your tree is, tell us if the tree is on public or private land and then add a few details from your notes about its size and appearance. You can upload photos of the tree and the leaf if you have them.
There is no need to worry about precise measurements or technical data, as an expert volunteer verifier will visit the tree and check the record you have made. If you find you have spent the day under a tree which is already recorded, simply click the ‘I have visited’ button and tell us on the blog about your day.
Step four: make sure your child’s name is on the recording form as the official discoverer – their name will stay on that tree’s records for ever – and during August click to claim your free prize. Would you like an eco-bag to put your picnic and hunting kit in next time that declares your love of old, fat trees? Or perhaps a special set of all 12 of Jorge Martin’s limited edition 'flash cards' that will help you spot an ancient tree and all its characteristics? Or you can choose Jorge’s animated film on DVD about all the bugs and beasties living within a typical ancient tree.
Step five: congratulate yourself for helping to secure the future for a vital part of our natural heritage. By recording your favourite tree (even if it’s not ancient), and telling how important it is to you and your family or community, you have ensured it is recognised and not lost for future generations.
Please help the Woodland Trust to reach its targets – so far over 40,000 ancient and notable trees have been recorded across Britain by 6,000 members of the public and assessed for accuracy by 130 volunteer verifiers. If we can hit 55,000 records by the end of this year, we will be over half way to our final target of 100,000 trees by 2011 when the five year project ends.
Notes to editors
For media enquiries contact:
The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, email: media@woodlandtrust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust:
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters.
The Trust has three key aims: i) to enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees ii) to protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future iii) to inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free.
The Ancient Tree Hunt:
This is a five-year project, led by the Woodland Trust in partnership with the Ancient Tree Forum and the Tree Register of the British Isles. It is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the Countryside Council for Wales, the Welsh Council for Voluntary Action, Scottish Natural Heritage and supported by the Forestry Commission Scotland; and will be working with local partners across the UK. Joining the Hunt are the Tree Council, The Caravan Club, The National Trust, English Heritage, Forestry Commission and HM Prison Service, over 100 regional and local groups, and many landowners.