Love for trees shines through in Exeter during National Tree Week
Published: 29 November 2022
It’s National Tree Week and in Exeter, people love trees and love taking pictures of trees.
In the last three years, the City Council has received more than 250 images of trees for its popular tree photography competitions.
And there’s plenty of trees to choose from, as last week Exeter was unveiled as the leading city centre in the UK for green spaces and tree canopy cover. The report from the University of Sheffield saw Exeter coming top of the tree – ahead of 67 other UK cities – for its green space credentials.
Cllr Amal Ghusain, Exeter City Council’s Lead Councillor for City Management and Environmental Services, said: “We’re proud of our parks and green spaces in Exeter and have worked hard over the years to ensure that they are protected.”
Exeter enjoys a range of green open spaces including six Valley Parks managed by Devon Wildlife Trust, numerous parks, sports pitches, 1,400 allotments and a number of leafy cemeteries.
That’s lots of green spaces and trees to capture on camera. This year, more than 73 entries were received in the City Council’s Tree Photography Competition, which asked Exeter residents to come up with an image of their favourite tree in the city.
A wide range of shots were received but it was Jez Winship’s stunning image of sun bursting through the golden autumnal leaves of an ash tree outside Exeter Library that won the judges over and took first place in the competition. Jez won a Haynes Tree manual and a framed image of his shot, kindly donated by competition sponsors Devon Tree Services.
Last year it was Dan Bullock’s dazzling shot of a tree being lit up by early morning sun close to the banks of the River Exe that won first prize. Prior to that, Paul Osbourne was the winner in 2020, the competition’s inaugural year, with a striking image of a blue sky above group of oak trees in Heavitree Pleasure Ground.
Speaking about this year’s competition, Cllr Ghusain said: “The quality of all the photos was really high, and I struggled to choose the top 10, let alone the overall winner. A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who took time to show us some beautiful and moving tree scenes in our precious environment. Trees are vital and beloved neighbours, and just as with people, the photos show just how much trees enhance our lives, if only we value and protect them.”
National Tree Week is the UK’s largest annual tree celebration, marking the start of the winter tree planting season (November to March each year). This year it takes place from Sunday 27 November to Monday 5 December. Further information about national events can be found on the Tree Council website https://treecouncil.org.uk/seasonal-campaigns/national-tree-week