Overview
- The Woodland Trust announced the winner on Wednesday after a public poll ran from July to September and the Bendy Tree took 30% of the vote.
- The wych elm on Newcastle’s seaside promenade has grown bent by coastal winds, survived Dutch elm disease and outlasted neighbours felled during 1980s redevelopment.
- It is the first tree from Northern Ireland to win the contest and is a local focal point where residents sit beneath its canopy on a town-centre bench.
- Tens of thousands of people voted from a shortlist of ten trees chosen for this year’s theme, 'Against All Odds', in a competition supported by partners including the Postcode Lottery.
- Organisers say the award will raise awareness of veteran-tree protection and they are encouraging people to add old trees to the Woodland Trust’s ancient tree inventory or donate to conservation efforts ahead of the European final next year.