The Ancient Tree Hunt is a campaign by the Woodland Trust

Woodland Trust

The Woodland Trust is a conservation charity in the United Kingdom concerned with the protection and sympathetic management of native woodland heritage.-History:...

. It seeks to catalogue all veteran tree

Veteran tree

A veteran tree or legacy tree is a tree which, because of its great age, size or condition, is of exceptional cultural, landscape or nature conservation value.-Definition:...

s in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. To date over 50,000 trees have been recorded; by 2011 it is projected to have grown to at least 100,000. It is hoped that it will allow a better understanding of the number and spread of ancient tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s in the UK. It was started in 2004 by The Tree Register of the British Isles

The Tree Register

The Tree Register, or more fully, the Tree Register of the British Isles , is a registered charity collating and updating a database of notable trees throughout Britain and Ireland...

 and the Ancient Tree Forum.

Accessing the Database

The trees catalogued by the project are recorded in a database maintained by the Woodland Trust

Woodland Trust

The Woodland Trust is a conservation charity in the United Kingdom concerned with the protection and sympathetic management of native woodland heritage.-History:...

. All entries (both verified and unverified) may be viewed on the campaign's website

Website

A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...

. All recorded trees may be viewed on an interactive map, or refined listings (of only verified trees) may be generated through a form generated search of the database

Database

A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...

.

The interactive map

The map has five layers, each of which has a number of display options:

• Maps and Photos
  • Historic Maps c. 1843 – c. 1893
  • Woodland Trust
    Woodland Trust
    The Woodland Trust is a conservation charity in the United Kingdom concerned with the protection and sympathetic management of native woodland heritage.-History:...
    
     Aerial Photos
  • Ordnance and Survey Map

• Roads and Paths
  • Sustrans
    Sustrans
    Sustrans is a British charity to promote sustainable transport. The charity is currently working on a number of practical projects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport, to give people the choice of "travelling in ways that benefit their health and the environment"...
    
    Cycle Routes
  • Railways
  • Major Man-made features

• Woods and Trees
  • Ancient, Veteran and Notable Trees
  • Ancient Tree Sites
  • Woodland Trust Woods
  • Ancient Woodland Inventory
  • National Inventory of Woods and Trees
  • Historic Parks and Gardens

• Wood Features
  • Entrances
  • Information Points
  • Footpaths
  • Car Parks

• Protected Areas
  • Sites of Special Scientific Interest
  • Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
  • National Nature Reserves
  • Local Nature Reserves

Searching the database

The search form includes the following fields:

• Tree number
• County / Country
• Species (if known)
• Veteran status (Notable, Veteran or Ancient)
• Local historic name
• Girth (Max and Min)
• Public accessibility
• Location search
• Organisation (who catalogued it)

External links

• The Woodland Trust: Welcome to the Ancient Tree Hunt website
• The Tree Register
• Ancient Tree Forum