see all 50 winning trees ...
Nominations online
nominate your favourite tree and make your tree special ...
The Favourite Trees Book
Download a PDF virtual copy (11mb)...
The trees that made Britain
BBC Wales and Kew Gardens come to Epping ...
News
The local Guardian news reports on our trees ...
How you can join in...
full story...
This project is funded by Epping Forest DC, Harlow DC, GreenArc, The Tree Council, The Guardian newspaper, Essex Biodiversity and The Local Heritage Initiative.
Trees make a place! At the same time they reflect the pattern of life. Tree cover reflects the soils, climate, and history of each place, as well as the activities of our predecessors over many centuries.
Is there a tree that you think is really special and that makes life just that bit better? Would you like to tell us why? ...nominate your favourite tree
At least parts of most of the towns and villages in Epping Forest District are characterised by the presence of large trees. Some of them are specially planted exotic trees, like the giant Redwoods of Loughton or the London Planes in Epping High Street. Many others are native trees, like the Oaks and Hornbeams of Stradbroke Drive and Bracken Drive in Chigwell. Older residents will remember the devastation caused by Dutch Elm Disease in the 1970s and 1980s. Of course some of those trees have been replaced but the character of some places changed forever.
Epping Forest District is unusual in having no major public parks. We rely greatly for our tree cover on trees in gardens, which means that those areas with larger gardens tend to be better tree’d than others.
Many of these trees are protected by Tree Preservation Orders, or Conservation Areas. Where gardens are smaller there are far fewer large trees; these parts of our district rely on street trees, or trees in areas of open space.
To see all 50 winning entries view here... To see all of the nominations view here... To view all of our Champion trees view here... To view all of our Veteran trees view here...
To see more information on any of these winning entries click on the tree image. Here you can view more pictures and data on the individual tree and its nominator.
In the countryside the ancient structure of hedgerows, scattered trees in the hedgerows and small woodlands has evolved since Roman times. Many of these are ancient pollards, that is trees whose tops were cut off regularly. In Hainault Forest and Epping Forest this was on an industrial scale to feed the industry and bread ovens of London. However, the cottagers also had customary rights since Saxon times to cut trees for their own fires in winter. Until recently most of the countryside was grazed and the hedgerows provided barriers for cattle, and also shelter and shade. The characteristic trees of the countryside thrived because they are happy on the generally heavy soils, which cover most of the district.
The search for the district’s 50 favourite trees has been made possible thanks to a £24,700 Local Heritage Initiative Grant, a partnership grant scheme between the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Nationwide Building Society and the Countryside Agency. This project builds upon the pilot project,10 Favourite Trees, chosen by the district tree wardens, exhibited at the District Museum in 2005.
Competition entries close April 2006, but nominations will are still wanted for your favourite trees so continue to register your trees when ever you wish. although these will no longer be eligable for the competition they will still be published on this web site to ensure that it continues to grow and attract attention.
To enter your nomination online now.click here
For more details contact Epping Forest Countrycare: 01992 788203.
