150-year-old sideways elm crowned UK tree of the year — SkimNews
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- The Bendy Tree, a 150-year-old wych elm in Newcastle, County Down, won the Woodland Trust's UK tree of the year under the competition's 'against the odds' theme.
- The tree grew its trunk nearly horizontally due to winds off the Irish Sea, and has resisted Dutch elm disease — a fungus that has destroyed most of the UK's 30 million elms.
- Originally planted in the mid-19th century as one of a row of wych elms along Newcastle's promenade to shelter the main street, the Bendy Tree is the last survivor after the others were felled in town redevelopments.
- May Chemais, the Woodland Trust's ancient tree inventory lead, said the tree 'has endured' and 'struck a chord with people' because everyone has been shaped by hardship.
- John Martin, director of Woodland Trust NI, highlighted the tree's whimsical sideways growth, which 'gives people a bit of a smile on their day.'
- Other shortlisted trees included the Crowhurst Yew in Surrey — hollowed out in 1820 as a parish meeting room, whose roof collapsed in an 1845 storm — and the Culmstock Yew in Devon, perched atop a 20-metre church tower.
- The Woodland Trust has separately launched an Igniting Innovation competition for people aged 16–25, offering three £5,000 prizes and up to a year of expert mentoring for projects benefiting woods, trees, and people.
Why it matters: The Bendy Tree's win spotlights a rare survivor of the Dutch elm disease that wiped out most of the UK's 30 million elms, while the Woodland Trust's 'against the odds' theme deliberately ties the tree's endurance to the public hardships of recent years. For the charity, the annual competition functions as both conservation advocacy for heritage trees and a low-cost community engagement tool.
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