Great Trees of East Devon
Very old or unusual trees support rare wildlife and often have a fascinating story to tell. Britain is thought to have the largest number of old broadleaved trees still surviving in Northern Europe, so the way we look after our veteran trees and their wildlife is crucial to global biodiversity.
East Devon District Council has launched a three year project to:
- find the most interesting and important trees in the district; the Great Tree Hunt has just ended and the results are hot off the press.
- support the parish tree wardens with training, advice and resources
- visit schools and provide material for them to take part in tree hunts and seed projects
- give advice and information about looking after ancient trees to landowners and other interested people
Stories of the Great Trees
The winning trees were chosen for their age, size, rarity, landscape value, the wildlife they support or for a story associated with them. Click here for a list (29KB) of the winning trees or go to Great Tree Tales to read more of their stories.
What next for the Great Trees project?
Now that the trees have been chosen, what next? We will:
- feature the trees and their stories in a new poster celebrating East Devon’s Great Trees and in a CD with a presentation available for playing in community buildings.
- Collect seed and grow it on for replanting as part of the East Devon Great Tree Seed Bank, hosted by Bicton College
- Give advice on how it can be cared for to extend its life and protect it in the future
- Provide some interpretive material to enable the local community to promote its story
- All the information will be sent on to national or regional surveys, such as the Ancient Tree Hunt or the Devon Gardens tree register, or local collections, such as the Westcountry Studies Library.
We will continue to record ancient trees and would welcome volunteers to join a small band of enthusiasts who will be visiting sites of interest. It is misleading to specify a girth size since ancient and veteran trees vary according to location and species. However a guide is that any Oak or Beech trees over around 6m in girth are interesting, or any Ash or Yew over 5m, for example.
Kate Tobin, project coordinator, will be visiting schools to tell the stories of the Great Trees and can work with any school in the district on tree related projects.
Kate will also continue to offer training to the tree wardens and other community conservation volunteers. You can find out more about what is on offer by looking at the Tree Wardens' page
The project is hosted by the East Devon District Council Countryside Service with contributions by the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Nature , the Tree Council and East Devon AONB Partnership.
