Tree of the Year (United Kingdom) facts for kids
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
The Tree of the Year competition happens every autumn in the United Kingdom. It is run by the Woodland Trust, a charity that helps protect trees and woods across the country.
First, people suggest their favourite trees. Then, a group of experts chooses a few trees for a special shortlist. After that, the public gets to vote for their favourite tree in each of the four UK countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Finally, the experts pick one tree from these four winners to be "Britain's Tree of the Year." This special tree then gets to represent the UK in the bigger European Tree of the Year competition the next year. This exciting competition has been running every year since 2014.
Contents
How the Competition Started
The European Tree of the Year competition began in 2011. It was inspired by a similar contest in the Czech Republic. In this European contest, people from different countries vote for their favourite tree. There are now 13 countries that take part.
The United Kingdom first joined the European competition in 2013. Two trees, Niel Gow's Oak from Scotland and the Oak at the Gate of the Dead from Wales, were put forward for the 2014 award. They finished 7th and 9th out of 10 trees.
The next year, the Woodland Trust took charge of choosing the UK's entries. They started national competitions in England, Wales, and Scotland. The winners of these national contests then went on to the European awards in 2015.
In 2015, the competition grew to include Northern Ireland. The Woodland Trust changed the rules in 2016. They added another round of voting to pick one overall "Britain's Tree of the Year." All four national winners still went to the European competition that year. But from 2017 onwards, only the overall British winner is entered into the European Tree of the Year awards.
How the Competition Works
The four national competitions take place in September and October. People vote for their favourite trees on the Woodland Trust website.
Anyone can suggest a tree by early August. Then, a group of independent experts creates a shortlist of trees for the public to vote on.
Each national winner receives a £1000 grant from the People's Postcode Lottery. This money can be used to help the tree. For example, it could pay for a health check, repairs, new signs, or a celebration event. Some other shortlisted trees also get smaller grants of £500.
After the public vote, a panel of experts chooses one of the four national winners to be "Britain's Tree of the Year." This tree then becomes the UK's entry for the European awards. Voting for the European competition happens in January and February of the next year.
In 2018, the Woodland Trust changed how the overall British winner was chosen. It was decided by a public vote linked with the BBC show The One Show. However, in 2019, they went back to having a panel of judges pick the overall British entry. The title "Britain's Tree of the Year" was not used that year.
Past Winners
Britain's Tree of the Year
- 2016 Brimmon Oak
- 2017 Gilwell Oak
- 2018 Nellie's Tree
- 2019 Allerton Oak
- 2020 Survivor Tree
England's Tree of the Year
- 2014 Major Oak
- 2015 Cubbington Pear Tree
- 2016 Sycamore Gap Tree
- 2017 Gilwell Oak
- 2018 Nellie's Tree
- 2019 Allerton Oak
- 2020 Happy Man Tree
Scotland's Tree of the Year
- 2013 Niel Gow's Oak
- 2014 Lady's Tree
- 2015 The Suffragette Oak
- 2016 Ding Dong tree
- 2017 Big Tree, Kirkwall
- 2018 Netty's Tree
- 2019 Last Ent of Affric
- 2020 Survivor Tree
Wales' Tree of the Year
- 2013 Oak at the Gate of the Dead
- 2014 Lonely Tree
- 2015 Llanarthne Oak
- 2016 Brimmon Oak
- 2017 Hollow Tree, Neath Port Talbot
- 2018 Pwllpriddog Oak
- 2019 Old Sweet Chestnut, Pontypool Park
- 2020 Chapter House Tree
Northern Ireland's Tree of the Year
- 2015 Woodvale Park Peace Tree
- 2016 Holm Oak, Kilbroney Park, Rostrevor ("Old Homer")
- 2017 Erskine House Tree
- 2018 Multi-stemmed Giant Sequoia, Castlewellan
- 2019 Invisible Tree
- 2020 - The competition was not held this year. Instead, the Woodland Trust team in Northern Ireland celebrated 20 years of their "Woods on Your Doorstep" program.
