The organisers are not looking for the oldest, tallest, thickest, most beautiful or rarest trees. They are looking for the most beloved tree—a tree with a story, one that stimulates the imagination and brings people together. Nominations for trees are open until the end of November.
Klub Gaja’s nationwide Tree of the Year competition promotes attitudes focused on nature conservation and the need to protect its features, including trees. It draws attention to their role in our lives and to the strong links between a community’s culture and history and the tree to which it attaches particular significance. It identifies the most important and most beloved trees in our country, as chosen by local communities. It is also a good opportunity to promote one’s local homeland and its natural assets. The competition is open to individuals, educational institutions, state and local government offices, institutions, social organisations, and regional and local residents’ communities. The competition’s ambassadors are Senator Kazimierz Kutz, traveller and writer Elżbieta Dzikowska, and Polish linguist and populariser of knowledge about the Polish language, Professor Jan Miodek.
More information, the competition rules and the nomination form are available on the Święto Drzewa website. Trees nominated in the previous edition that did not reach the final may be nominated again.
The final of the previous Tree of the Year competition featured 16 trees from 122 entries submitted from across Poland. During the public vote, internet users cast 17,043 valid votes, and the plebiscite website recorded more than 76,000 views. Dąb Słowianin from Dębina (Lower Silesian Voivodeship), winner of the 2014 Tree of the Year title, will represent Poland in the international 2015 European Tree of the Year competition.
“Let us be glad that the number of trees is not decreasing but increasing. Extraordinary. I have been taking part in the Tree of the Year competitions for several years now, and it seems to me that Słowianin deservedly won; it is truly a magnificent specimen,” says competition ambassador Elżbieta Dzikowska.
The Tree of the Year competition is held as part of the Święto Drzewa Programme, co-financed by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management and the Katowice Voivodeship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.
Zgorzelec City Hall/www.swietodrzewa.pl/ii