Trees provide vital living space for many native species, mark our local boundaries and act as a pointer to our past.

But what is it that gives old trees their ‘veteran’ status and where do we find these special examples that can provide us with such a unique insight into our local natural and cultural history?

These are questions that Dorset Wildlife Trust’s project officer, Emma Brawn, needs local people to help answer. “Although Britain is home to some of the most important veteran tree landscapes in north-west Europe, there isn’t a good database of where they are and what condition they are in,” explained Emma. “That is why the Greenwood Tree Project, started last year with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund, is so important, because it will help us to secure the future for these veteran trees which have such a strong historical and cultural value in the local community.”

For trees, even size and age can be deceptive. A 100-year-old willow could be classed as ‘ancient’ while a similarly-aged birch would only be acquiring ‘old’ status, and the oak only just easing itself into ‘maturity’.

Veteran trees support wildlife that often can’t live anywhere else, such as woodpeckers, owls, bats, beetles, fungi, lichen and mosses, and these trees can be found anywhere from agricultural land, historic parkland, village greens, and churchyards to ancient commons, housing estates, urban parks and hedgerows. When the project started in June 2007, Dorset boasted 48 veteran trees. One year on, approximately 500 have been identified, but these records have come from large landowners such as the Forestry Commission, The National Trust (Kingston Lacy), Canford School and an MSc study, Ancient Yews in Dorset Churchyards. It is now vital to identify isolated trees, for example in waysides and hedgerows. Ongoing threats to their survival include under-management, change in land use and competition from surrounding trees.

In their younger days, some of Dorset’s now famous veteran trees witnessed some interesting historical events. Along a public footpath just north of Gillingham stands the Wyndham Oak, one of only a few remaining ‘hanging’ or ‘gibbet’ trees and named after a local judge appointed by Oliver Cromwell in 1654. Your help in identifying today’s finest examples will ensure they remain part of Dorset’s living landscape for generations to come.

To get involved, call 01305 264620.