Woodland Trust has announced the contenders for Tree of the Year 2023 including the Grantham Oak in Lincolnshire and a Manchester poplar.
Trees in the UK can be older than the towns and villages they grow in. Veteran trees can be a founding feature, a natural monument, a loved local landmark and even a part of a village’s identity. Tree of the Year is a celebration of some of nature’s oldest landscape features and this year they are celebrating some of the oldest trees in urban settings. Each tree shortlisted by an expert panel and the Woodland Trust is a veteran tree or an ancient tree.
Voting is now open on the Woodland Trust website and closes Sunday 15th October. The winner will be announced on Thursday 19th October.
This year, the contender for the prize are……
- Sweet Chestnut, Greenwich Park in London
- Holm Oak Blitz Tree, Exeter
- Foxglove Tree, Lichfield memorial garden in Staffordshire
- Holm Oak, Jephson Gardens in Leamington Spa
- The Crouch Oak, Addlestone in Surrey
- Black Poplar, Gorton’s Annie Lees Park, Manchester
- The Grantham Oak, Lincolnshire
- Elm, Chelsea Road, Sheffield
- The Plymouth Pear, Devon
- Sweet Chestnut, Acton Park, Wrexham in Wales
- Highland Gateway Walnut, Inveralmond Retail Park in Perth
- The Belvoir Oak, Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Library Holm Oak, Westbury in Wiltshire