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Its going to be a Summer of Hugs

In a wave of nostalgia for the peace and love summers of the 1960s and with a watchful eye onthe future for the UKs remarkable ancient trees, this summer is going to be a Summer of Hugs,according to the Woodland Trust, the UKs leading woodland conservation charity.

The Summer of Hugs officially kicks off at the Guardian Hay Literary Festival this week.Clive Anderson, Monty Don, Felix Dennis and Will Cohu are among those celebrating ancienttrees and woodland at the ten-day-long literary festival in the Brecon Beacons. The Summer of Hugs is part of the Woodland Trusts Ancient Tree Hunt and therell be a range of events tocelebrate it across the country.

The Ancient Tree Hunts five year plan is to find and record 100,000 ancient, veteran and notabletrees in the UK and after its first year has gathered 17,000 records. This summer, the Trust hopesto get everyone hugging to add even more ancient trees to its records onwww.AncientTreeHunt.org.uk .

The Woodland Trusts Ancient Tree Hunt database isnt just a long, dull list of measurements andnotes its a free and searchable atlas. Every ancient tree found can be plotted on zoom-ableOrdnance Survey (OS) maps. Some trees have photographs, a blog, amazing stories of kings,

queens, poets, politicians and painters, and even a list of visitors.Hugging is an easy way to measure the girth of old trees, and a fatgirth is one of several indicators of age. Ancient tree huntingdoesnt need special equipment and its something that everyone,of every age and level of fitness, can do this summer either whentheyre out and about, or as a reason to go out for the day.

There are estimated to be more ancient trees in the UK thananywhere else in Northern Europe, yet theres no official record of where they are, how many there are and, unlike most historicbuildings, few have any protection.

Ancient trees and their younger cousins, the veterans and notabletrees of the UKs rural and urban landscape, are importantbecause of the wildlife they sustain and their role in helping toshape our history over the centuries. Holes, dead and rottingwood, wrinkles and crannies are all important habitats for hundreds of plants, animals, insects and fungi, including manyrare and threatened species. Clusters of ancient trees are evenmore important, because they offer more places for wildlife.

So how do you hug an ancient tree? A British Standard Hug from an adult, with armsoutstretched and fingertip-to-fingertip, is about 1.5 metres, and a childs hug is roughly half that.

A veteran oak might be a candidate for the Ancient Tree Hunt database once it gets to a minimumof three adult hugs, a beech might qualify at just two hugs, and a fat, old sweet chestnut needs tobe four hugs as they grow more quickly.

There are thought to be ancient oaks still thriving that were alive even before the arrival of Williamthe Conqueror in 1066. Books and documents recording this momentous historic event haventsurvived as well as the oaks originating from the same date. Incredibly, these trees are stillwaiting to be found, hugged and mapped, and anyone could find one.

Thanks to 21st century technology, ancient tree clusters are indicated on the zoom-able maps onthe Ancient Tree Hunt website. Armed with this knowledge, ancient tree hunters can visit specificsites in the expectation of having a grand old tree to hug and measure at the end of their trip. TheAncient Tree Hunt website even contains a layer of Sustrans information to help plan routes for cyclists, walkers and disabled people.

To register a tree on the Ancient Tree Hunt website, simply make a note of where it was found,take a photo if possible, and measure its girth. You can use a tape measure, or use the hug

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