Bendy Elm is Named the UK Tree of the Year
What’s the most spectacular tree you’ve seen in your life? Trees, often taken for granted, are more wondrous than one can imagine, providing shelter and habitats for a variety of animals, and shade for humans. They’re also long-lived — with some estimated to have survived thousands of years.
Every year, the Woodland Trust holds a “Tree of the Year” competition where members of the public can choose their favorite tree. This year, the competition honored a lone wych elm that grows nearly horizontally alongside the promenade on the coast of Newcastle in County Down, Northern Ireland, according to the BBC. The “bendy elm,” as it is affectionately known, is about 150 years old.
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Defying the Odds
At over a century old, the bendy elm is a remarkable survivor. It was planted as part of a row of other elms to help shelter visitors to the promenade from the winds off the seashore. Over the years, the rest of the elms were cut down, but the bendy elm remained. But beyond the wind, the elm has also survived the devastating Dutch elm disease, which killed the majority of the 30 million elms in the United Kingdom.
The wind eventually shaped the tree into its nearly horizontal form, and its canopy now protects visitors from the sun. Due to its whimsical nature, the bendy elm has also become a beloved local spot, and a bench has been placed beneath it, allowing visitors to enjoy the sea view under its shade.
“It’s a great testament to the resilience of nature,” John Martin, the Woodland Trust’s Northern Ireland director, tells the BBC.
Not Without Competition
The bendy elm faced stiff competition in this year’s contest, The Guardian reports. Some other trees that were nominated this year include the Crowhurst Yew in Surrey, England. In 1820, villagers hollowed out the trunk of the tree to create a unique parish meeting room. A few decades later, the roof collapsed due to a storm, with the door of the room remaining in the tree until this very day.
Another resilient and impressive tree that was nominated was the Culmstock Yew in Devon, England. This yew sits on top of a church tower that is 20 meters (65 feet) high. The tree has been there for longer than local residents can recall.
A Graceful Ash Tree
Last year, the contest honored a 75-foot ash tree that provides shade to houses on a busy road in Glasgow. According to The Guardian, the ash tree, which was planted during the Victorian era, survived the Clydeside Blitz air raids during World War II, a deadly fungal disease that destroyed many other ash trees across the nation, and redevelopment. In 1951, British author James Cowan described the tree as “quite the most graceful ash I have seen.”
The “Tree of the Year” contest is a wonderful and whimsical way to get people invested in the lives and health of the trees around them. Trees are fundamental to a healthy ecosystem. It is well beyond time that they receive the honor and respect due to them.
