{"id":294662,"date":"2025-07-27T01:14:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T01:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/294662\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T01:14:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T01:14:14","slug":"edinburgh-tree-on-shortlist-for-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/294662\/","title":{"rendered":"Edinburgh Tree on Shortlist for 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

A sycamore tree linked to a famous war poet is in the running to be named the UK\u2019s Tree of the Year 2025 \u2013 and people in Edinburgh can help by voting for it.<\/p>\n

The \u201cWilfred Owen Sycamore\u201d grows in the grounds of Edinburgh Napier University, formerly Craiglockhart War Hospital when the poet was treated there for shell shock in 1917.<\/p>\n

Owen met and was inspired by fellow poet Siegfried Sassoon at the hospital, and wrote his most famous poems there, before returning to France in 1918, where he was killed in action.<\/p>\n

When a large branch was removed for safety in 2014, instrument maker Steve Burnett made a violin from the wood to commemorate 100 years since the start of World War I and honour Owen\u2019s memory. <\/p>\n

The violin has Owen\u2019s pre-war poem \u201cWritten in a Wood, September 1910\u201d inscribed inside it. <\/p>\n

The sycamore is one of ten inspiring \u201ccultural trees\u201d shortlisted for the Woodland Trust\u2019s annual Tree of the Year competition, supported by players of People\u2019s Postcode Lottery.<\/p>\n

The shortlist was announced by Dame Judi Dench, Woodland Trust Patron, who said: \u201cOur oldest trees hold more stories than Shakespeare \u2014 some were putting down roots long before he began writing, more than 400 years ago. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey are as much part of our heritage as any literature.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shortlist features trees of differing ages and species, with nine selected by a panel of experts and a wildcard from the public.<\/p>\n

The winner, to be announced in September, will represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year finals.<\/p>\n

Nominees were chosen along the theme \u201cRooted in Culture\u201d, highlighting how trees are ingrained in the UK\u2019s cultural landscape.<\/p>\n

The Wilfred Owen Sycamore is one of two Scottish trees listed, along with the \u201cArgyle Street Ash\u201d, which is this year\u2019s public wildcard nomination.<\/p>\n

The 75-ft tall ash in the front garden of 1223 Argyle Street \u2013 on Franklin Terrace \u2013 was the first tree in Glasgow to receive a Tree Preservation Order and has become a symbol of resilience in the city.<\/p>\n

It has survived Victorian industry, the Clydeside Blitz and recent redevelopments while also avoiding killer diseases such as ash dieback.<\/p>\n

Other trees on the shortlist include \u201cThe Beatles\u2019 cedar tree\u201d in West London, which featured on the Fab Four\u2019s Nowhere Man EP cover, and a solitary beech on Salisbury Plain known as \u201cthe Lollipop Tree\u201d, which featured in the final scenes of the war film \u201c1917\u201d .<\/p>\n

Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People\u2019s Postcode Lottery said: \u201cWe\u2019re delighted our players are supporting this year\u2019s Tree of the Year competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese trees have witnessed key moments in history, provided solace to war poets, been a supporting artist in a blockbuster film, and inspire reflection and creative photography as the seasons change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to seeing which one the public votes as the winning tree.\u201d <\/p>\n

Voting is open until 19 September here.<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2017 instrument maker Steve Burnett created the Wilfred Owen violin from the branch of a sycamore tree standing in the grounds of the Craiglockhart building, now part of Edinburgh Napier University, to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War in 2014. Owen and Sassoon would have walked in the grounds of the hospital a century ago and known many of the trees still to be found there and this was the second violin to be created in memory of the war poets from the same branch.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo George Anderson WTML<\/p>\n

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