Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\nDavid said: \u201cI\u2019ve looked after the tree for over five years in a professional capacity, carrying out safety inspections and remedial work.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver time, I noticed it was resisting ash dieback far better than most trees I\u2019ve encountered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat led me to dig deeper – both scientifically and historically.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt became clear that this tree has survived the Victorian era, survived Glasgow\u2019s \u2018Age of Smoke,\u2019 when coal soot darkened the air and buildings while Glasgow was the second city of the Empire.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt survived the Clydeside Blitz and the 1968 storm when many tenements were destroyed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has endured from Trams to Teslas.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the winner of the competition, the ash will now progress to represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year finals in early 2026.<\/p>\n
Also known as The Lone Tree of Finnieston, the tree was described in James Cowan\u2019s 1935 book From Glasgow\u2019s Treasure Chest as \u201cquite the most graceful ash I have seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the first tree in Glasgow to receive a Tree Preservation Order and is regarded as a symbol of resilience locally, producing greenery and shade in an otherwise grey and urban part of the city.<\/p>\n
Nine other trees from across the UK made up the list of nominees, including a sycamore growing at Napier University in Edinburgh, with the \u201cArgyle Street Ash\u201d being put forward by David as the wildcard pick.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe know that the tree is estimated to be 170 years old meaning it has lived through a fifth of Glasgow\u2019s 850 year history<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1980 Glasgow District Council took the step to protect the tree under TPO No.1, Glasgow\u2019s very first Tree Preservation Order.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been part of so many Glaswegians\u2019 everyday lives that people often tell me they can\u2019t imagine Argyle Street without it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Locals also expressed their delight at the nomination, reflecting on memories of the tree.<\/p>\n
One man said: \u201cIn the 1970s as a student I\u2019d open my curtains to see the tree every morning and later in life it inspired me to plant more trees across the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another said: \u201cMe and my mates always admire the tree when having a few pints at the Park Bar.\u201d<\/p>\n
A third commented: \u201cMy parents met under that tree.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another local, Pat Lilly, remembers his grandparents renting the flat when he was a child.<\/p>\n
Pat added: \u201cI always remember the tree being in my Granny\u2019s front garden, and I played there from being a toddler with lots of my cousins.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable that the tree has been selected to be in the running for Tree of the Year, 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam Cormack, head of campaigning at the charity, said: \u201cTrees really matter to people, and this is clear from the response we\u2019ve seen to the Argyle Street Ash.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrees inspire us to write stories and create art, whilst connecting us to cultural legacies and a sense of place.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe encourage people to notice and enjoy the trees around them, and learn more about how they benefit us – from boosting biodiversity and wellbeing, to mitigating the effects of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laura Chow, head of charities at People\u2019s Postcode Lottery, which supported the competition, said \u201cThese trees, rooted in culture, show how valued they are by their communities, and the significant importance they have in our wider cultural history.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a worthy winner the Argyle Street Ash is.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"175-year-old ash tree has lived through a fifth of Glasgow\u2019s 850 year history. The man who looks after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459472,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7826],"tags":[748,12450,1102,2266,728,918,4884,8940,712,16,15,12846],"class_list":{"0":"post-459471","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glasgow","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-charity","10":"tag-edinburgh","11":"tag-education","12":"tag-environment","13":"tag-glasgow","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-paisley","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-universities-and-colleges"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115285575936102971","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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