Celebrating our roots: A ceilidh tune to honour Scotland’s Tree of the Year premiers today
A ceilidh tune to honour Scotland’s tree of the year 2018 was premiered at Glasgow’s Park bar today to mark the launch of this year’s competition.
Supporters of Netty’s Tree on Eriskay used part of the £1,000 cash prize to commission a traditional ceilidh tune in its honour.
Planted over 100 years ago by the poet, priest and land rights activist Father Allan McDonald, Netty’s Tree was until recently the only tree on the windswept Island of Eriskay.
Today, the tree’s legacy lives on with a song written by local musician Claire Gullan, who wrote a ‘strip the willow’ dance tune to mark the occasion.
The day marks the opening of next years competition.
George Anderson of Woodland Trust Scotland said: “I am delighted that we can get nominations going this year with a special performance of the jig and the unveiling of the bench.
“We want to hear about the historic trees, the grand old specimens or just the trees that people have a particular connection with.
“It is the story as much as the tree itself which catches the public imagination and gets the votes flowing in.
“The competition has become a very popular annual fixture and turns up new delights every year. It is a fantastic celebration of the trees that are most special to people and communities.”
Nominations for Trees of the Year in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales open on the Woodland Trust website tomorrow (Tuesday). Any organisation or individual can nominate a tree. Winning trees receive a £1000 Care Award thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
This can be spent on work on the tree, signage or a community celebration with a trophy for the winners and runners up receiving £500 awards.
Other previous Scottish winners include the Suffragette Oak in Glasgow, the ‘ding dong’ tree in Prestonpans and the ‘big tree’ on Orkney.
