Tree of the year

Memorial stone , Kleiner Tiergarten , in Berlin-Moabit

To highlight the value of the tree in society, a tree of the year is presented in many countries . Even if all states have the same goal, the organization in them is mostly different. The tree selection is also based on the local occurrence of these species. In some countries a special tree is chosen as tree of the year instead of a tree species , such as in Slovakia or the Czech Republic . In some countries, the selection is also made by public bodies or organizations dealing with the trees. In others, they are chosen by popular vote.

The International Day of Forests , which the FAO has proclaimed and which takes place every year on March 21, is closely linked to this campaign .

Germany

Inscription on a boulder in Bad Belzig , Brandenburg

Allee with all the "Trees of the Year" proclaimed in Germany since 1989 next to the Holdorf waterworks

Every year in October, the tree of the year is presented by the "TREE OF THE YEAR - Dr. Silvius Wodarz Foundation ”(formerly People for Trees) and its advisory board, the“ Kuratorium Baum des Jahres ”(KBJ), determined for the following year.

This board of trustees was established in 1991 by the founder and chairman of the environmental protection association Wahlstedt (today Tree of the Year / Tree of the Year Foundation) in Schleswig-Holstein , Silvius Wodarz . From 1989 the association proclaimed a tree of the year, more precisely a tree species, since 1991 with the board of trustees. The Tree of the Year Board of Trustees is an advisory board of the "Tree of the Year - Dr. Silvius Wodarz Foundation “, President of the Foundation is Silvius Wodarz. The KBJ is chaired by the foundation's board member, Andreas Roloff . "Tree of the Year" is a protected trademark .

The main motto of the activities is “People for trees and children need nature”. For every tree of the year, the foundation publishes a green leaflet for everyone and a yellow one for children. For the respective tree of the year, the foundation holds a symposium every year, alternating in one federal state.

When the 20th annual tree ( walnut ) was proclaimed on October 19, 2007 in Berlin, Wodarz announced the establishment of the “People for Trees” foundation. This was in June 2010 in “Tree of the Year - Dr. Silvius Wodarz Foundation "renamed. The respective Federal Environment Minister is the patron. In addition, a greeting from the then Federal President Horst Köhler was read out.

Since 2010, a German tree queen has been elected every year to represent it in public.

A copy of the tree of the year is planted every year at the Schäfersee in Berlin-Reinickendorf and in the Berlin Zoo . There you can see a number of trees of the year since 2001 along with name stone or name plaque.

In the course of a new construction of a section of the BAB 4 near Kerpen-Buir, the “Tree of the Year Avenue” was created in both directions. There the trees of the year from 1989 to 2014 were planted with corresponding information boards.

Previous trees of the year

The following are the authentic names of the proclaimed tree species:

year	German name	scientific name	Illustration
1989	English oak	Quercus robur L.
1990	European beech	Fagus sylvatica L.
1991	Summer lime tree	Tilia platyphyllos Scop.
1992	Mountain elm	Ulmus glabra Huds.
1993	Service tree	Sorbus domestica L.
1994	European yew	Taxus baccata L.
1995	Norway maple	Acer platanoides L.
1996	Hornbeam	Carpinus betulus L.
1997	rowan	Sorbus aucuparia L.
1998	Wild pear	Pyrus pyraster L.
1999	Silver willow	Salix alba L.
2000	Sand birch	Betula pendula Roth
2001	Ash	Fraxinus excelsior L.
2002	Common juniper	Juniperus communis L.
2003	Black alder	Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gärtn.
2004	Silver fir	Abies alba Mill.
2005	Common horse chestnut	Aesculus hippocastanum L.
2006	Black poplar	Populus nigra L.
2007	Forest pine	Pinus sylvestris L.
2008	Real walnut	Juglans regia L.
2009	Sycamore maple	Acer pseudoplatanus L.
2010	Bird cherry	Prunus avium L.
2011	Service tree	Sorbus torminalis L.
2012	European larch	Larix decidua Mill.
2013	woodapple	Malus sylvestris
2014	Sessile oak	Quercus petraea
2015	Field maple	Acer campestre
2016	Winter linden	Tilia cordata
2017	Norway spruce	Picea abies
2018	Eating chestnut	Castanea sativa
2019	White elm	Ulmus laevis
2020	Common black locust	Robinia pseudoacacia

Tree of the millennium

Sacred ginkgo tree in Takayama next to the Shinto Shrine (Tree of the Millennium)

At the turn of the millennium, the Kuratorium Tree of the Year declared the Ginkgo biloba a memorial for environmental protection and peace and the tree of the millennium.

Criteria for choice

In principle, any tree species can become “Tree of the Year”.

The criteria are also based on the ecological importance and the rarity or endangerment of the tree species, but the focus is on educating the population about the characteristics of the selected trees.

In 2020, an “invasive” neophyte was selected for the first time with the common robinia , which is included in the warning list of invasive vascular plant species in Germany . In advertising campaigns for the tree of the year, only the merits of the species were sometimes unilaterally emphasized.

Members

The following organizations and persons are equal members of the KBJ:

• Dr. Silvius Wodarz Foundation Tree of the Year / Tree of the Year Association V.
• Bergwaldprojekt Deutschland e. V.
• Bonsai Club Germany e. V.
• Roberto Buffi, Switzerland
• Association of German Nurseries e. V. (BdB)
• Association of German Foresters (BDF)
• Federal Association of Garden, Landscaping and Sports Field Construction
• Federation of Homeland and Environment (BHU)
• Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany e. V. (BUND)
• German Dendrological Society e. V. (DDG)
• Cambiarare e. V.
• German Forest Association e. V.
• German Hunting Protection Association (DJV)
• Fischer Dürr Foundation
• Forum Green City
• Garden Authority Conference at Dt. City Day
• Gerst, Michael, head of the Hessen-Forst regional office
• Godet, Jean Denis, artist / Switzerland
• Heine-Jundi, Eleonora , painter
• IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt
• Institute for Tree Care, Dujesiefgen
• International Tree Archives , Winterthur, Switzerland
• Landesforstanstalt Eberswalde
• Lenné Academy, Hans-Jürgen Pluta
• Robin Wood
• Andreas Roloff , deputy Chairman of the KBJ
• Protection Association of German Forests (SDW)
• Hëllef fir d'Natur Foundation
• NABU Foundation for National Natural Heritage
• Environment Foundation WWF Germany
• Association of Botanical Gardens e. V.
• Wagin, Ben , artist
• Wulf, Alfred, Institute for Plant Protection in the Forest of the BBA

Austria

A Tree of the Year has been chosen in Austria since 1994. The tree is selected jointly by the Ministry of Life and the Forest Board of Trustees . Tree species that are important for Austrian ecology and economy but are highly endangered are taken into account. In contrast to the German selection, entire genera as well as individual species can be selected in Austria . Even groups that are biologically unrelated, like the wild fruit trees , were chosen.

year	German name	scientific name	Illustration
1994	Fir trees	Abies
1995	Book	Fagus
1996	Linden trees	Tilia
1997	Spruce trees	Picea
1998	Black alder	Alnus glutinosa
1999	Stone pine	Pinus cembra
2000	Black pine (black pine )	Pinus nigra
2001	Ash trees	Fraxinus
2002	Larches	Larix
2003	Pastures	Salix
2004	rowan	Sorbus aucuparia
2005	Maples	Acer
2006	Elms	Ulmus
2007	Hornbeam	Carpinus betulus
2008	Service tree	Sorbus domestica
2009	Birch trees	Betula
2010	Wild fruit trees	div.
2011	Stone pine	Pinus cembra
2012	Service tree	Sorbus torminalis
2013	European yew	Taxus baccata
2014	European beech	Fagus sylvatica
2015	Silver fir	Abies alba
2016	Oak trees	Quercus
2017	juniper	Juniperus
2018	Poplars	Populus
2019	European hop beech	Ostrya carpinifolia
2020	Black alder , gray alder , green alder	Alnus glutinosa , Alnus incana , Alnus alnobetula

Hungary

The tree of the year has been chosen in Hungary since 1996

year	German name	scientific name	Illustration
1996	Bird cherry	Prunus avium
1997	Winter linden	Tilia cordata
1998	Wild pear	Pyrus pyraster
1999	Mountain elm	Ulmus glabra
2000	Service tree	Sorbus torminalis
2001	Silver birch	Betula pendula
2002	Downy oak	Quercus pubescens
2003	Sycamore maple	Acer pseudoplatanus
2004	Black poplar	Populus nigra
2005	Common juniper	Juniperus communis
2006	Narrow-leaved ash	Fraxinus angustifolia subsp. danubialis
2007	Sweet chestnut	Castanea sativa
2008	Broken Willow	Salix fragilis
2009	Black alder	Alnus glutinosa
2010	Silver linden	Tilia tomentosa
2011	European yew	Taxus baccata
2012	Bird cherry	Prunus avium
2013	Service tree	Sorbus domestica
2014	Field maple	Acer campestre
2015	English oak	Quercus robur
2016	Field elm	Ulmus minor
2017	woodapple	Malus sylvestris
2018	Manna ash	Fraxinus ornus

Other countries

In some countries it is not a tree species but a very special tree that is chosen as tree of the year . These countries in Europe are for example the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ireland, France, Poland and Lithuania.

United States

In the USA there is no nationwide election for the "Tree of the Year". Occasionally, however, a “Tree of the Year” is chosen at a local level, for example in Austin (Texas) .

Web links

• Tree of the year in Germany
• Tree of the year in Austria
• Forest Board of Trustees
• Tree of the year in Hungary

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Wilfried Meisen: New Autobahn in Kerpen: Trouble about "Trees of the Year" . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger . ( ksta.de [accessed on May 24, 2017]).
2. ↑ Flatter-Ulme is Tree of the Year 2019. Süddeutsche Zeitung , November 9, 2018, accessed on August 25, 2020 . 
3. ↑ The Common Robinia (Robinia pseudoacacia) Tree of the Year 2020 - 32nd YEAR TREE
4. ↑ Example of an advertisement in the guise of an editorial report that unilaterally emphasizes the forestry advantages of the species: red (= editorial): The "false acacia" defies climate change. Also well suited for Central European forests. In: Donaukurier, Schrobenhausen edition. March 25, 2020, accessed April 6, 2020 . 
5. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
6. ↑ Zirbe is “Tree of the Year 2011” on ORF science from March 21, 2011, accessed on November 7, 2011
7. ↑ European Tree of the Year 2013 ( Memento from October 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) on Balaton.info from February 20, 2013, accessed on October 25, 2013
8. ↑ 2016 metų Lietuvos medžiu išrinktas Stelmužės ąžuolas , October 17, 2016, accessed on April 8, 2019
9. ↑ City of Austin's Tree of the Year program ( Memento from February 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive )