Tottenham Trees
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Calling Tree - the LIFT Festival in Tottenham

 A cycle of performances of songs, poems and bird-callings
was set in and around the ancient oak tree
in Bruce Castle Park in the summer of 2016
​

Message to the Bruce Castle Oak

Picture
I was lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks around, under and in this tree for the Calling Tree project.

I think I'll always remember the time i spent in its gnarled branches and canopy of dark green leaves, kept company by small green crickets, weevils, leaf-hoppers, and a squirrel that regularly came and took a power-nap in its favourite hole. In April there was a pair of great spotted woodpeckers and 3 sets of hole-nesting starlings, and by late June there was at least one second brood of almost fledged young, shrilling constantly for food from the hole. Also checking out the numerous holes i saw stock doves, rose-ringed parakeets, nuthatches and blue tits. A mistle thrush was making regular visits in the spring to collect moss for its nest in the oak opposite. It was wonderful to be up in the tree and see and hear these birds at their own level, in their world. Swifts often swooped over the oak, especially in thundery weather, hoovering up insects. One of the strangest visits was a female mallard who was perched way up on one of the big boughs one morning.

It was really clear from my first day at the tree how important a resource it is not only to wildlife but to individuals and the community in Tottenham. I talked to so many people about their relationship with the tree - their memories of climbing it, falling off it, having their first kiss underneath it, seeing it in the snow, people's shock when branches came off after storms, plus all the myths and legends about the tree going back across the centuries… It is obviously loved and valued.

One of my favourite moments was seeing kids from local primary schools as they filed by look up into the tree and spot people up there (doing something - what?). Those fleeting looks of surprise and alertness aroused were somehow very touching and human.

On my last day at the tree, as everyone who worked on the project was gathering under its branches at dusk to say our goodbyes, i saw a noctule bat flying, and a little later a fox running along the line of trees opposite. I had the sense, now it had been freed of all the ropes and ladders we used for the project, that at last the tree was being given back to the park - to its wild and human  community.

I hope it survives for many hundreds of years to come, and continues to nourish the people and wildlife of Bruce Castle Park.

Ben Stammers, Calling Tree

Picture

​The Choir


​A choir of young women from Tottenham performed a specially commissioned song by Terry Mann:

​Abena Dankura
Divine Lindo
Dominique Florent-Lee
Rebecca Gyasi
​Sheena Marfo
Susan Araromi

Led by Sianed @
 www.sianed.co.uk
Find out what's happening!
Learn more about trees
Find out out about the Tree Charter
Sign up for  Tottenham Trees Occasional Updates
Contact us at: [email protected]
In Tottenham seven trees were planted in a ring over 400 years ago for reasons lost in time; the Seven Sisters area and the underground station are named after them. The seven trees have been replanted a number of times, always by seven sisters. 

The Tottenham Trees logo, shown on the right, is a silhouette of the Bruce Castle Oak with the logo of the Charter for Trees, Woods and People launched in November 2017, on the 800th anniversary of the Royal Charter of the Forest.

Picture
  • Tottenham Trees
    • Winter Tree blog: Evergreen trees
    • Trees in Tottenham (Galleries) >
      • Tottenham trees (A-D common name)
      • Tottenham Trees (E-K common name)
      • Tottenham Trees (L-R common name)
      • Tottenham Trees (S-Z common name)
    • Special trees in Tottenham >
      • Bruce Castle Oak >
        • Arboricultural survey
        • Reminiscences of the Bruce Castle Oak
        • Calling Tree >
          • Calling Tree: gallery
      • Mulberry tree
      • Seven Sisters
    • Tottenham parks >
      • St Ann's Redevelopment
    • Tottenham Tree Trails
    • Archive >
      • Celebrating Trees 2023
      • #HaringeyFavouriteTrees 2022
      • #HaringeyFavouriteTrees 2021
      • Tree Charter Day 2019 >
        • Legacy Oak Ale
      • Tree Charter Day 2018
      • Tree Charter Day 2017
      • 800 year Charter anniversary
      • Calling Tree: Tottenham
      • London Tree Week 2017
      • London Tree Week 2016
      • Other Tottenham tree events
    • Who we are >
      • Postcards and Bags
  • About Trees
    • Threats to our trees
    • Tree Identification
    • Stephen's Tree Quizzes >
      • Celebrating Trees 2023 >
        • Answers: Celebrating Trees 2023
      • Celebrating Trees 2019 >
        • Answers: Celebrating Trees 2019
      • Celebrating Trees 2018 >
        • Answers: Celebrating Trees
      • Lazy Sunday Tree Quiz >
        • Answers: Lazy Sunday
    • Global Tree Calendar
    • Charter for Trees >
      • Charter history
      • Charter Principles
      • Independent Panel on Forestry
  • Urban Trees
    • Growing trees from seed
    • iTree surveying
    • Street Trees for Living
    • Tree care
    • Tree packs for free
    • Tree planting
    • Trees in the Townscape
  • Inspirations
    • Trees in Art from Tottenham
    • Trees in Words from Tottenham >
      • From the Sycamore Gap
      • Message on leaves
      • Nothing
      • Ode from the Oak
      • Of this tree
      • Poetry@The Room 2024 >
        • Little Ol' Me
        • The Elder
      • Poetry @ The Room 2017 >
        • Epping
        • Under the Elder Tree
      • Poetry Sunday @ Bruce Castle
      • It's a Word Thing!
    • Wangari Maathai >
      • Green Belt Movement
      • Institute and Foundation
      • First Seven Trees
      • Remembering Wangari
      • Kenya
    • Felix Finkbeiner >
      • Plant for the Planet >
        • 3 Point Plan
    • Chico Mendes
    • Chipko Movement
    • Inspiring stories from around the world
  • Green Spaces
    • Other Haringey Green Spaces
    • London Friends of Green Spaces
    • London National Park City
    • Parks cafe trail
    • The Conservation Volunteers
    • Future Forest