Tree, Myself and Why? competition winner announced

A winner has been announced for Ryedale District Council’s Tree, Myself and Why? competition to find the best story and image of a Ryedale-based tree, which was part of National Tree Week celebrations earlier this month.

Abigail Greetham’s account of a “tree for all seasons” based in Nunnington was the winning entry (winning a family day pass at The Yorkshire Arboretum and a book by local biologist/ecologist Amy-Jane Beer). Councillor Mike Potter, Member Champion for Climate Change at the council, picked the best entry.

Abigail said she notices how beautiful the tree is from all angles when she takes her dog for a walk past it, adding, “It may be weathered and a little bit broken, but it’s still standing tall…”

She also included images of various other Ryedale trees, saying, “Growing up in Rosedale, we had a fabulous tree at the end of our drive which my grandma used to call ‘The Listening Tree’. I believe to this day there are certain trees which just do something special to each of us.”

Councillor Mike Potter said: “Many congratulations to Abigail. Not only is this a particularly beautiful tree, but Abigail’s winning entry really got to the heart of the competition title by describing how this and other trees have an impact on her. It is one thing to appreciate the emotional impact trees have on each and every one of us, but we really need to understand their importance to all our lives.

“Besides their beauty and majesty, trees provide a practical role in the air we breathe, their storing of carbon, their contribution to healthy soils and the water cycle, their support of so many parts of the ecosystem, and finally to our mental and physical health.

“National Tree Week may be over for this year, but anyone who doesn’t appreciate the importance of trees to our lives is encouraged to find out more about them.”

A number of other citizens’ entries were sent into the competition, including:

• A tree alongside the lane running from Crambe to Howsham Bridge, standing on its own and “bare and sparse in winter like a skeleton and gloriously full of leaves in the summer”. The tree “lifts the spirits” of the citizen who sent in the entry.

• The ‘Pegasus’ tree, seen when travelling from West Heslerton towards Rillington, which is a favourite of a resident who looks forward to seeing it when going past it after trips to the coast.

• The large, impressive conical tree which has lived in Norton for 45 years, with an interesting back story: the entrant’s grandfather wanted to plant a shrub to grow three to four feet but “didn’t have his glasses on when he bought it!” The tree is now home to most of the local birds and squirrels but will “always be the biggest, best, most wonderful and beautiful mistake [the grandfather] made!”

• A special ash tree standing alone in the Crossdale valley, off the beaten track of the A169, which is “probably 100 years old” and “weathering all weathers”.

• And a “wonderful old tree at least 200- or 300-years-old” at the entrance to the forestry above the village of Allerston. The tree has green cones on it resembling roes and is “amazingly soft, thick, reddish, brown and furrowed”.