160 year-old giant redwood voted NI’s Tree of the Year

160 year-old giant redwood voted NI’s Tree of the Year

24 October 2018

A 160 year-old monster giant redwood located in Castlewellan Forest Park has been crowned Northern Ireland’s Tree of the Year.

In the search for the nation’s best-loved tree organised by the Woodland Trust, the competition was open to any living tree in the UK,  with Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales each having its own contest.  

The four country winners – decided by a recent public vote – were revealed on BBC’s The One Show last Wednesday evening, with Northern Ireland’s champion taking a well-earned bow having secured 912 votes, against competition from five other worthy contenders.

The giant redwood, or multi-stemmed giant sequoia which was the Province’s runaway winner, stands within the walled garden at the forest park and was planted as a sapling by the Annesley family, the former owners of Castlewellan demesne.

With an awe-inspiring 19 trunks, it’s a firm favourite with young climbers, who are amazed when parents point out that the multiple trunks are in fact one incredible tree. 

Tree enthusiasts, Dr Sally Montgomery, of Castlewellan Futures’ Heritage Group, and Ann Irwin, of Arboretum Regeneration Castlewellan, nominated the Northern Ireland winner.

“This tree was grown from one of the original seeds first brought back to England from California, in 1853 by the renowned collector William Lobb, working for Veitch Nurseries,” their nomination explained.

“He dashed to the Sierra Nevada in 1852 when he first heard of these monster trees, anticipating correctly that the species, renowned for being the world’s largest tree, would be hugely popular among Victorian collectors.“

The Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year competition aims to highlight and celebrate remarkable trees and to ultimately ensure they are given the recognition and protection they deserve.

Trust director, Patrick Cregg, said the organisation is “truly grateful” to everyone who played a part, – either by nominating trees or by simply taking the time to vote. 

“We had a shortlist of six contenders in Northern Ireland, each with an amazing story. Thanks to the public vote, our NI winner is Castlewellan’s magnificent multi-stemmed giant sequoia.

“Our congratulations go to Ann and Sally. They have worked tirelessly to put their tree and indeed trees in general, firmly on the map. And now there’s another fantastic opportunity just around the corner.” 

The charity has now set its sights on the European Tree of the Year competition run by the Environmental Partnership Association.  

As announced on The One Show last week, just one of the four country winners will represent the UK in February’s European contest and it’s now up to the public to choose if the giant redwood at Castlewellan Forest Park will be the UK’s nomination.

To vote for the giant redwood to be the UK’s choice in Europe visit the One Show website.