Visit Harlow

Harlow Tree Hunt

Harlow Council is working in partnership with Epping Forest Countrycare and the Woodland Trust to build up a database of all veteran trees in Harlow. We need your help in tracking down all veteran trees dating back to before Harlow New Town was built. These trees were important to the previous residents of the district as they provided timber for housing and cooking. Join us in the search to uncover Harlow’s living history.

A veteran tree can be described as “a tree which, because of its great age, size or condition is of exceptional value culturally” Some veteran trees are immediately recognisable because of their great size, however some veteran trees may not be large but support a great number of wildlife species.

The Council wants to pin point the veteran trees of Harlow as they are a valuable part of our heritage. Britain is distinctive through Europe as having a large number of old surviving trees, that have cultural connexions with people, places or events. Veteran trees also important as they support the wildlife of Britain by forming holes and hollows that are used as homes by species such as birds and bats. The identification of veteran trees will also show us how many there are, what condition they are in and if they are under threat (such as the expansion of urban settlements)

The veteran trees can be found in places such as:
• Old woods
• Church yards
• Old field boundaries
• Road side verges
• Riverbanks

You can help us to complete this town wide search by keeping you eye out for old looking trees. If you find one let us know as much information as possible about the tree such as type of tree, size, girth and locations, if possible attach a picture. This will help us build up a database so all veteran trees are recoded and mapped correctly. This will allow us to protect veteran trees from the threat of being removed.

Throughout the summer we will be running workshops to learn more about veteran trees and how to record them on the databases. We shall also run several walks and days out looking for old trees in previously unsurveyed areas.

Workshops and local walks will be advertised in local papers, libraries or on
www.harlow.gov.uk

To search the current local database which is run by Epping Forest Contrycare see
www.favouritetrees.com

Or see the national database run by the Woodland Trust
www.ancient-tree-hunt.org.uk

For more information contact Harlow Council Biodiversity Officer Glenn Mulleady on 01279 430005

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Harlow's Local Nature Reserves are devised to enable people to enjoy their natural surroundings, whilst also providing opportunities for study and learning.  Each site contains rare species, uncommon habitat and/or important natural features for the local area, making its protection essential to guarantee the heritage of wildlife and nature for future generations.

 

Two of Harlow's newest nature reserves are Hawkenbury Meadow, next to Katherines Way and the Harlow Marshes running alongside the River Stort.

Throughout the year there are events for the public with additional sessions designed specifically for young people. Book in advance for these events and get close to nature by taking part in one of the free guided walks on offer.

Downloads
Click here to download a map of the river Stort showing the location of the nature reserves mentioned above.

For a list of events please click here and refer to the Wildspace! newsletter.

Additional Information