Skipinnish oak up for Tree of the Year
The Skipinnish Oak. Credit Gus Routledge
An ancient oak tree in Scotland’s rainforest is one of three Scottish finalists that need your vote for the Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year competition!
The Skipinnish oak is an imposing specimen, its twisted branches heavy with lichens and moss. It’s named, not for the area where it’s found, but after the Scottish trad band Skipinnish, which played at a gathering in the area in 2009.
But what’s most remarkable about it, is its surroundings. Local volunteer Gus Routledge explains:
I was first shown the Skipinnish oak by a friend who lives and works in the community around Loch Arkaig. Just what to expect was difficult to know, but I could never have imagined quite what a character I was about to be introduced to. There stood this absolute spectacle in its spotlight, hidden away amongst the dark, dense conifers. And this is quite fitting really, as a spotlight really does need to be shone on trees such as this.
For starters, the tree itself is obviously enough to catch the eye with its huge, burly trunk supporting several massive branches, some of which have died either from old age or prematurely due to shading. The figure of the tree draws the eye to what is held in its canopy: a rich variety of life, from the ‘flying’ rowan and holly saplings to the big wefts of moss that find the clean, humid air to their liking. Walking up to the tree, the canopy is lost to view as the bole fills your view, inviting you to feel this tree in whatever way comes naturally to you.
For me, the stereotypical tree-hugging narrative is fully realised and I give it a big embrace, but in doing so, I can get close to much of the life supported by the tree. Highlights include the skeleton-finger-like structures of the rainforest lichen called black-eyed Susan, named for its black fruiting bodies which are often numerous on this tree. Small patches of oceanic liverworts, such as prickly featherwort, contrast with the much softer shoots of mouse-tail moss.
Black-eyed Susan and mosses growing thickly on the oak. Credit Gus Routledge
All of this life supported by one single tree that has somehow survived several hundred years of... well, what has it survived? Two world wars in which many thousands of trees were felled to fuel human conflict; the clearance of people from the land which this oak shared with them for who knows how long; huge shifts in land management in the past 200 years including the relatively recent arrival of a blanket of conifers destined to be harvested. It sounds much like the odds were stacked against the Skipinnish oak and yet there it still stands today. Its existence has, of course, not gone unnoticed.
More attention has been brought to it and other wild trees in the area as the community has placed value on these wild ecosystems, restoring them on a large scale and inspiring hope that our future is filled with more healthy ecosystems and all the bountiful life that these bring with them. The path there, however, is not straight-forward and trees such as the Skipinnish oak, although providing us with great foundations to work from, need us to make some changes to the way we manage Scotland's landscapes. A greater appreciation of the ability for nature to survive, as this tree has done despite what we've thrown at it, should have us realised the huge potential for our rainforest ecosystems to revive themselves provided we give them the opportunity.
Just over the hill from this oak sit the pinewoods of Loch Arkaig, managed by Arkaig Community Forest and Woodland Trust Scotland. The scale of recovery here is relatively unmatched in this part of Scotland and the vast majority of it has resulted simply from removing the smothering blanket of commercial conifers, and reducing the number of hungry mouths seeking out every sapling. Caledonian Scots pine, birch, rowan, willows, oak and hazel are all now returning of their own accord, finding their niche as the habitat develops.
This is what trees such as the Skipinnish oak offer us: the potential to revive our rainforests and inspire hope for the future of Scotland's nature and people.
To see all the oaks up for the 2024 Tree of the Year competition, and to vote for your favourite, visit https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/tree-of-the-year/
Find out more about the Loch Arkaig Landscape Restoration Partnership
