Trees have been on our planet since long before the Dinosaurs

Even when they die trees provide Trees make great homes for wildlife Even when they die trees provide food and shelter for animals and plants They make our towns and countryside better places to live in

A tree may be growing on its own Lots and lots of trees growing together is a FOREST Smaller than a forest but still with lots of trees is a WOOD Little groups of trees are called a COPSE GROVE or SPINNEY When fruit trees grow together we call it an ORCHARD

Trees can help to reduce flooding Trees help to cool our cities Trees help hospital patients get better quicker Trees help cows to produce more milk

Where would you prefer to be? A room indoors A woodland glade

There are lots of types of tree How many can you think of?

A S HORNBEAM H CHERRY HOLLY CHESTNUT LIME ELM SYCAMORE OAK PINE HERE ARE SOME TYPES OF TREE A S H HORNBEAM CHERRY HOLLY CHESTNUT LIME ELM SYCAMORE OAK PINE Did you think of any others?

The seed of the Oak is called an Acorn. LET’S LOOK AT ONE OF THESE – THE OAK The seed of the Oak is called an Acorn. In a good year one Oak can produce 100,000 acorns What happens to them?

Squirrels collect them and bury them So do Magpies! Wild Boar eat them but also trample them into the ground. Pigs love to eat them

? ? Squirrels and Magpies may forget where they buried some acorns So these grow up into – what?

Seedlings, which become new Oak Trees

How do you recognise an Oak Tree? The leaves are very easy to spot – they are wavy You may see acorns on it The buds are clustered together at the tip of the twig. Even in Winter you can see this.

You may see these on an Oak They are called Marble Galls because they look like marbles.

Hundreds of years ago Marble Galls were used to make ink. Important documents like the Magna Carta were written with it

Instead of growing into leaves the bud grows into a nice little This tiny fly lays an egg in an oak bud Instead of growing into leaves the bud grows into a nice little home for the young fly When the larva is ready to fly away, it makes a hole so that it can get out. You can often find the hole if you look

HOW OLD IS THAT OAK? Can you see how its branches have to be propped up Some think Robin Hood may have known it This old oak is called the Major Oak It is 10 metres around the middle It is 800-1,000 years old It is in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire

HOW OLD IS YOUR OAK? But what do you do if the tree is still standing? When a tree is cut down you can see lots of rings. Each ring is one year of its life. Count the rings to know its age But what do you do if the tree is still standing? This tree has around 11 rings so it is 11 years old

An Oak tree grows around 2.4 centimetres a year. Measure the circumference of the tree around 1.5 metres from the ground. Divide the answer in centimetres by 2.4 to get the rough age of the tree 1.5 metres

Look-up table for age of Oaks Girth of tree in metres and centimetres 0m 25cm 0m 50cm 1m 00cm 1m 85cm 1m 98cm 2m 48cm 3m 10cm 3m 70cm 4m 33cm 4m 95cm 5m 58cm 6m 20cm 6m 80cm 7m 43cm 8m 03cm 8m 65cm 9m 28cm 9m.88cm Equals Estimated age in years 10 21 42 75 80 103 138 181 232 291 358 433 515 606 704 810 924 1046

Oak wood is very useful It was used for building ships For making furniture For making barrels To construct buildings

An oak tree has more animals and insects living or feeding on it than any other type of tree Bats live in the oak and eat the insects Badgers and deer love to eat acorns Fungi grow on fallen or dead wood

The Oak Tree by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr A mighty wind blew night and day It stole the oak tree's leaves away Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark Until the oak was tired and stark But still the oak tree held its ground While other trees fell all around The weary wind gave up and spoke. How can you still be standing Oak? The oak tree said, I know that you Can break each branch of mine in two Carry every leaf away Shake my limbs, and make me sway But I have roots stretched in the earth Growing stronger since my birth You'll never touch them, for you see They are the deepest part of me Until today, I wasn't sure Of just how much I could endure But now I've found, with thanks to you I'm stronger than I ever knew  

We must look after our trees Why not plant a tree?