Scotland and Wales Tree of the year 2020 contenders

Voting is now open to name Scotland's Tree Of The Year and also Wales' Tree Of The Year 2020. A shortlist has been drawn up by a panel of judges and the vote is open to the public via the Woodland Trust website who organise the competition. Carol Evans, Woodland Trust Scotland director, said of those nominated that: "There was a common theme to a lot of the trees and their stories - of tenacity and hanging on against the odds."

The Woodland Trust is a woodland conservation charity. It is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 43 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Trust maintains ownership of over 1,000 sites covering over 24,700 hectares (247 km2). Of this, 8,070ha (33%) is ancient woodland. It ensures public access to its woods. The organisation also campaigns on environment issues. Mainly focussing on safeguard woodland heritage and calling for a much stronger approach that protects and promotes landscapes that are rich in native woods, trees and wildlife.

Image above: One of the Scottish contenders. Milarrochy oak on Loch Lomond. Picture courtesy of the Woodland Trust - Aiden Maccormick/scotlandbigpicture.com/WTML

Images below: The Survivor Tree,  Carrifran Valley in southern Scotland, picture byAiden Maccormick/WTML. Plus two of the Welsh contenders. The Overton Yew, the churchyard of St. Mary the Virgin, Overton-on-Dee (Welsh: Owrtyn).  The Beech of Many Faces, Gnoll Country Park, Neath (Welsh: Castell-nedd).