An Estonian oak, standing in the center of a football field won the title “European Tree of the Year 2015”

The winner is 150-year-old oak in the town of Orissaare on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia, which initially had been growing in proximity of a small playground. When it was enlarged in 1951, the tree happened to stand in the center of the stadium. For the citizens of the town this situation has long been but extraordinary, and the students have learnt to use the oak in their passes in their matches. The widely known “tree seeker” and promoter of many years of the contest, Rob McBride, who saw all of the 14 finalists while the voting was taking place, and in February visited Bulgarian participant, shared that the “footballer-tree” is “a symbol for everyone in the world of how things can be made better”.

This year the Bulgarian tree got the happy seventh place. The plane tree in the center of the village of Archar, Vidin Municipality, has through the years become the heart of the local community, and the village inhabitants together take a good care to maintain it in a good condition. The plane tree is for them their favorite tree, which relates to the place they live or grew up at, and they link it to unforgettable moments in their lives. Owing to that attachment and relation to nature, it received the support of over 7 thousand votes and was ranked high among Europe’s loved trees.

The organizers of European Tree of the Year 2015 contest have expressed their happiness with the results of the voting: “Every year more and more people vote, which means that more and more people become conscious of the significance of trees and the need to protect them,” says Miroslav Kundrata, director of Environmental Partnership Association. And they add that all are welcome to the awards ceremony, which will take place on Earth’s Day, April 22, 2015 in Brussels, under the motto “A piece of nature coming to the city.”

Results from the vote for European tree of the year 2015:
1. The oak tree on a football field in Orissaare, Saaremaa, Estonia – 59836 votes
2. The great plane tree in Tata, the town of Tata, Komárom-Esztergom county, Hungary -53487
3. Poplar pollard of the Remolinar, Aguilar del Alfambra, Aragón, Spain – 13951
4. Oak Slav, Dębina, Lower Silesia region, Poland - 12354
5. The Opatovice Pine, Velké Opatovice, South Moravian region, Czech republic - 12327
6. Major Oak, Nottingham Shire, England – 9941
7. The Plane in Archar village, Village of Archar, Vidin Region, Bulgaria - 7052
8. Mulberry - The lighthouse of the history, Mulberry, Senica, Trnava region, Slovakia – 6776
9. Lady’s Tree, Loch of the Lowes, Perthshire, Scotland, UK - 4193
10. The Lonely Tree of Llanfyllin, Powys, Wales, UK – 1548
11. The Nail Tree, Voeren, Belgium – 1362
12. The Chestnut Tree, Pianello, Corsica, France – 654
13. Olive Tree from Canneto Sabino, Sabina, Lazio, Italy – 515
14. Cedar of Lebanon, Ballinderry, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, Ireland - 308




Environmental Partnership Association is an association of six foundations from Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Czech Republic, supporting civic projects that are oriented towards protection of the environment and galvanizing local communities. During the twenty years of its existence EPA has ensured project financing worth more than 10 million euro.
European Tree of the Year contest was first staged in 2011 as a continuation of the popular Tree of the Year contest, which has been organized in the Czech Republic for many years now by Partnership Foundation. The European contest is the final round of the competition, in which the winners from the national competitions take part.

The goal of European Tree of the Year is to attract attention to interesting old trees as significant natural and cultural heritage, which we have to value and protect. Unlike other contests, in European Tree of the Year the beauty, size, and age are not central, but it is the history and the relation with the people. We look for trees, which have become a part of community.
Every year tens, and even hundreds, of thousands of people take part, and the number of participating countries has jumped from the initial 5 to 14. We continue to look for partners in European countries, so that the theme of protection of trees as bearers of local spirit becomes a subject of international debate.