Odes to our iconic oaks
Today for Plant Health Week we are celebrating all the ways that plants make life better. Here Mike Dunn, from the BAC-STOP project, shares some of the wonderful submissions to the Odes 2 Oaks campaign.
The iconic oak tree is one of the most common and most poular trees in the UK. But Britain’s oak trees are facing threats from a number of pests and diseases, including Acute Oak Decline. As well as studying the disease, researchers from the BAC-STOP project have also been trying to understand how and why oak trees matter to us so much. Part of this research was an online campaign called ‘Odes 2 Oaks’ which invited members of the public to pay tribute to oaks in imaginative ways. Submissions were received from up and down the country in the form of images, videos, poems, personal memories and heartfelt testimonies.
The entries highlight the cultural and symbolic importance of oaks in Britain, with reference to their durability and integral place in the physical and historic landscapes. Alan Titchmarsh’s stirring poem in celebration of the English Oak (entered in a show of support for the campaign) is one such example.
“It built the houses of our nation,
Excerpt from Alan Titchmarsh’s tribute to oak from his book ‘Marigolds, Myrtle and Moles’.
Made our name and reputation,
Standing now in hedge and field,
Reminder that we would not yield,
Steel and iron in furnace heat,
Cannot with its strength compete,
Cruiser’s powered by oil and coke,
Have not the spirit of the oak”
Some submissions characterised oaks as resilient, exemplified by their journey from “a small nut that overcame everything and became a beautiful oak’. However, others showed concern for the vulnerability of oaks to developments such as expanding transport infrastructure, asserting that we have a collective responsibility to “preserve and save these wonderful trees” in the face of such threats.
Rather than focus exclusively on the importance of oaks, many entrants took the opportunity to celebrate their favourite trees such as the Osterley Oak at the National Trust’s Osterley Park and House (pictured below).
For various reasons, oaks have become an important part of the everyday lives of some people. A number of entrants made very personal submissions to emphasise how they, as individuals, value and interact with oaks.
My tribute is for my son and mum who both loved trees
That when you hear the wind whistle through the leaves it reminds me
Walking with them in the days they were here
The big, tall trees sort of give you a hug and say, “they are always near.”
Working on oak has changed my life, research vision and experience, and captured my soul. I love these trees and simply cannot imagine a world without them. I will do all I can to ensure they are with us now and in the future, for all generations.
The campaign has demonstrated that oaks mean many different things to different people. Just as oaks may be valued for the meaning and benefits they provide to people, they too may be valued in their own right as a collective or as individual trees. In light of the inspiration and passion oaks provoke, why not pop an oak cork and raise a glass to Britain’s favourite tree?
Long live our oaks!
