Edinburgh Tree on Shortlist for 2025
The 'Wilfred Owen Sycamore' grows in the grounds of Edinburgh Napier University, formerly Craiglockhart War Hospital when the poet was treated there for shell shock in 1917.
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.
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's memory.
The violin has Owen's pre-war poem 'Written in a Wood, September 1910' inscribed inside it.
The sycamore is one of ten inspiring 'cultural trees' shortlisted for the Woodland Trust's annual Tree of the Year competition, supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery.
The shortlist was announced by Dame Judi Dench, Woodland Trust Patron, who said: 'Our oldest trees hold more stories than Shakespeare — some were putting down roots long before he began writing, more than 400 years ago.
'They are as much part of our heritage as any literature.'
The shortlist features trees of differing ages and species, with nine selected by a panel of experts and a wildcard from the public.
The winner, to be announced in September, will represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year finals.
Nominees were chosen along the theme 'Rooted in Culture', highlighting how trees are ingrained in the UK's cultural landscape.
The Wilfred Owen Sycamore is one of two Scottish trees listed, along with the 'Argyle Street Ash', which is this year's public wildcard nomination.
The 75-ft tall ash in the front garden of 1223 Argyle Street – on Franklin Terrace – was the first tree in Glasgow to receive a Tree Preservation Order and has become a symbol of resilience in the city.
It has survived Victorian industry, the Clydeside Blitz and recent redevelopments while also avoiding killer diseases such as ash dieback.
Other trees on the shortlist include 'The Beatles' cedar tree' in West London, which featured on the Fab Four's Nowhere Man EP cover, and a solitary beech on Salisbury Plain known as 'the Lollipop Tree', which featured in the final scenes of the war film '1917' .
Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People's Postcode Lottery said: 'We're delighted our players are supporting this year's Tree of the Year competition.
'These 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.
'We're looking forward to seeing which one the public votes as the winning tree.'
Voting is open until 19 September here.
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.
Photo George Anderson WTML
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