Hazlegrove Prep’s mighty King John Oak was shortlisted for the Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year Award
Hazlegrove Prep’s King John Oak was included on the Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year Award shortlist. Oaks can live for over 1,000 years – Hazlegrove’s measures 10.74m around its trunk and is treasured by pupils.
The Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year Award celebrates twelve magnificent oak trees around the UK. Oaks can live for over 1,000 years, support more wildlife than any other native tree and the UK is home to more ancient oaks than the rest of Europe combined. The Tree of the Year Award went to the Skipinnish Oak, in Lochaber, Scotland, which sits within a spruce plantation and is one of the largest oaks in the region.
The King John Oak at Hazlegrove has an estimated age of 1,000 years and measures an impressive 10.74 metres around its trunk. Growing in the grounds of the school, the tree was already 500 years old when the school was founded in 1519 and has watched over countless generations of children on the Hazlegrove site since 1947.
Conservation is a hot topic at the school as Hazlegrove has recently been awarded the Green Flag Eco Status for which they gained a distinction. Headmaster Ed Benbow said, ‘What an honour to be custodians of this remarkable ancient oak tree. It is an incredible example to us all at Hazlegrove showing strength and resilience and provides a home for a host of different wildlife. It inspires creativity in our children and embodies our mission to nurture our environment’.
Hazlegrove Prep hazlegrove.co.uk
Further reading: Nature boost – why schools take learning outside
You may also like...
