Wanted: old, fat, ugly trees
Ancient trees are living relics.
They have stood and watched many generations of native humans pass. Their incredible age inspires awe and mystery. Some began their lives before the Norman Conquest!
They have helped shape our history, and could help shape our future. They are survivors - for example, many ancient oaks will have lived through the medieval mini-ice-age.
This may mean they are important genetic reservoirs, which could be very relevant as we enter the climate change era.
The Ancient Tree Hunt
Can you help us to reveal their secrets, discover the wildlife they sustain and unlock their stories gathered over centuries?
The Ancient Tree Hunt (ATH) involves finding and mapping all the heavy, old trees across the UK. It is a Woodland Trust conservation project. The aim is to create a
comprehensive living database of ancient trees. So far, more than 6,000 trees have been recorded. They aim to record at least 100,000 ancient trees throughout the UK by 2011.
Maps more than 200 years old are being used to help find and protect Britain’s natural treasure house of ancient trees. But local knowledge will reveal many more.
Some ancient trees are instantly recognisable, others are less obvious. Often it is the tree that makes you say ‘wow, it’s huge, fatter than any other tree like that round here’. It will be really fat, but probably not that tall. The term ‘ancient tree’ encompasses:
- Trees of interest biologically, aesthetically or culturally because of their great age
- Trees in the ancient or third and final stage of their life
- Trees that are the old relative to others of the same species
Ancient trees are found anywhere and everywhere, so this is a treasure hunt that everyone can take part in. We have more ancient trees than any other country in Western Europe. But, so far, only six have been reported on the Isle of Wight.
So we need to search high & low!
PS Top ten tree related things you can do to help combat climate change here.
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