December 2023 / January 2024
The hullaballoo earlier this year over the felling of a sycamore along Hadrian’s Wall is a stark reminder of our relationship with trees.
The Hadrian’s sycamore may not have been old enough to be remembered by a lonely second-century Roman guard, but it had stood for many generations and created its own place in people’s hearts.
One theory is that sycamores were actually introduced by the Romans, another that it was in the 15th century, so it is not a native tree. As such, its value for wildlife is limited, but it does serve a useful role in our (now much depleted) native forest.
As far as the Hadrian individual is concerned, however, these debates are irrelevant. The reason its demise has caused such concern is that it was an icon – of place, stability, tradition and familiarity. How often do we abuse these great giants that populate our towns, villages and countryside? We tarmac them, trample their roots, fell them indiscriminately with little thought for their importance in the world and our heritage. These, after all, were the great oxygen builders of our planet’s early years, and we are painfully aware of their vital role in stabilising the climate today.
In ancient culture, the sycamore holds many memories. For the Egyptians, it was a sycamore that connected the living and the dead, and in the Christian bible Luke tells us it was a sycamore-fig that Zacchaeus climbed to get closer to Jesus. Other trees have also held great importance and the ‘Tree of Life’ crosses several societal boundaries. In old Norse, the Yggdrasil (pictured above) was an immense ash tree that was the centre of the universe, and in both the Christian and Islamic traditions Adam and Eve lived in the garden with the ‘Tree of Life’, from which they ate the dreaded apple. In ancient Celtic culture, the ‘crann bethadh’ was the tree that was always left when creating a new living space in the woods, symbolising the essence of trees as central both to sustaining life and as a spiritual symbol. In India the Bodhi is the sacred fig under which the Buddha sat.
In our modern culture, too, the sycamore can have great cultural value. If you visit the Martyrs’ memorial in Tolpuddle, you will find one of the country’s oldest, at 350 years.
More prosaically, a 2016 report found that London’s trees remove over 2,200 tons of pollution from the air each year, and city trees substantially increase residents’ wellbeing, reducing fatigue and irritability and so contributing to a reduction in crime.
Do you have a sacred tree? Have a look around and you’re sure to find one in your garden, along the roadside or in the woods. Stop and wonder awhile – ancient or modern, trees populate our lives with colour and scent, majesty and memory. Let’s treat them a little more kindly.
Rambler