PREVIEW

Planting of Sycamore Gap saplings begins across the UK. The first of 49 saplings grown from the illegally felled Sycamore Gap tree were planted on Saturday as part of the National Trust’s Trees of Hope initiative. The plantings coincide with the start of National Tree Week and were conducted after early 500 applications were submitted for the 49 saplings, one for each foot in height of the original tree at the time it was cut down. Now between four and six feet tall, the plants were grown from seeds collected immediately after the felling and nurtured at the Trust’s Plant Conservation Centre. All the saplings will be planted in publicly accessible spaces across the UK, allowing people to share in the legacy of one of the country’s most recognisable trees. The first sites to receive a ‘Tree of Hope’ on Saturday, 22 November, include The Tree Sanctuary in Coventry – created by three teenagers to rescue unwanted trees and Greenham Common in Berkshire, which reopened to the public in 2000 after decades of military use. The first sapling produced from the Sycamore Gap tree was presented to His Majesty The King last summer and will be planted for the nation at a later date. Early next month, another sapling gifted to Henshaw Church of England Primary School – the nearest school to Sycamore Gap – will be planted on its grounds. A further 15 will be planted across each of the UK’s National Parks, including Northumberland National Park, in early 2026.