Lady’s Tree Aims For Glory

Its home to Scotland's most famous osprey and is in the running to be named Europe's tree of the year. Lady returns to a Scots Pine at the Loch of the Lowes every summer. But there's some stiff competition for the sought after title, as Rory Syme from Wooddland Trust Scotland explains:

The result of the competition is decided by public vote. Scotland faces a challenge from 13 other countries including England, France, Italy and Bulgaria. Carol Evans, director of the Woodland Trust Scotland said: “Lady’s Tree was a very worthy winner of Scottish Tree of the Year as it shows how important trees are for biodiversity. It provides a home to a wide range of species including and red squirrels, as well as the celebrity osprey.

“There are lots of great reasons to vote for Lady’s Tree. It’s been at the heart of the drive to bring back ospreys to Scotland for quarter of a century, and as a Scots pine it is our national tree.”

Jonny Hughes, chief executive of the Scottish Wildlife Trust said: “This iconic Scots pine at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Loch of the Lowes Reserve is very much part of a wider conservation success story.

“Ospreys were extinct in Scotland but through dedicated conservation efforts such as that undertaken by staff and volunteers at Loch of the Lowes every year, the population in Scotland is thriving once again.

“The Scottish Wildlife Trust would also like to thank players of People’s Postcode Lottery for supporting this competition and helping conservation charities like the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Trust to protect wildlife and wild places for future generations.”