The Bendy Tree, a wych elm in Newcastle, Northern Ireland, has won this year's UK Tree of the Year contest, organisers have announced. It is the first tree from Northern Ireland to be crowned winner in the Woodland Trust's annual competition.
Public vote and theme
Tens of thousands of people voted in a public poll that ran from July to September, choosing from a shortlist of 10 trees. Each contender had survived some kind of adversity, in line with this year's theme: "Against all odds".
The Bendy Tree, a much-loved feature of Newcastle's seaside promenade, has weathered extreme coastal gusts for more than 150 years, as apparent from its horizontal trunk. It was planted as part of a row of wych elms along the town's original promenade around the mid-19th century, but is now the last one standing after many were felled during redevelopments in the 1980s.
Survival and competition
The tree has also survived Dutch elm disease, a fungus that destroyed most of the UK's 30 million elms during its second outbreak after being accidentally imported from North America in the 1960s. Its canopy casts shade for locals who can sit on a bench underneath its branches.
The Bendy Tree received 30% of public votes, the Woodland Trust said. It triumphed over contenders including the Crowhurst Yew in East Sussex, which had survived a direct hit from a Civil War cannonball, and the Culmstock Yew in Devon, which has grown at the top of a church tower for some 200 years.
Other shortlisted trees included the 150-year-old Balloch Castle ash, which has experienced a lightning strike, multiple storms, ash dieback, footfall from millions of visitors, and an Oasis concert. The Bollihope Burn Birch in County Durham is perched precariously off a cliff in an area once dominated by industry. The "Preston Twin" in Brighton, likely the world's oldest English elm, has lived four centuries despite the threat of Dutch elm disease.
Recognition and response
As the winner, the Bendy Tree will represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year finals next year. May Chemais, ancient tree inventory lead for the Woodland Trust, said: "When you look at this astonishing and bizarre tree, there's no doubt about what it has endured. We've all been through changes and hardships that have shaped who we are: I think that's why the Bendy Tree has struck a chord with people."
Chemais encouraged the public to add ancient and veteran trees to the Woodland Trust's ancient tree inventory or to donate to the organisation. Laura Chow, head of charities at Postcode Lottery, which supported the competition, said: "Tree of the Year shines a light on the remarkable trees that stand at the heart of our communities, each with a story that deserves to be told."
