Tree of the Year: Why Glasgow's Argyle Street Ash is a beautiful symbol of hope
‘In an era of mounting ecological strain, the symbolism of this lone ash is hard to ignore’
In his 1935 book, From Glasgow's Treasure Chest, James Cowan wrote that it was “quite the most graceful ash I have seen”. Ninety years later, that same tree remains standing strong – despite the devastating ash dieback disease – hard up against a tenement on the city’s Argyle Street. And it is still attracting admirers, like consultant arborist David Treanor.
He entered it into the Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year competition, where it’s competing against a cedar climbed by The Beatles, a lime representing peace in Northern Ireland and others in a public vote.
Writing eloquently in The Scotsman, Treanor said: “In an era of mounting ecological strain, the symbolism of this lone ash is hard to ignore. It’s a survivor. And survival, especially under pressure, matters.”
The first modern humans are sometimes said to have been those who ‘descended from the trees’. But we’ve never really left them behind. Studies have suggested woodlands can have a beneficial effect on our mood and perhaps even our health.
Tree of the Year or not, the Argyle Street Ash is a beautiful symbol of hope. Long may it flourish.
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