comenius partnership visit to oxford planting our oak tree
TRANSCRIPT
Comenius Partnership Visit to Oxford
Planting our Oak Tree
When our Comenius Partners visited Oxford in March we planted an Oak tree to
commemorate the visit and to support the theme of our Project – ‘Ecology United’
The English Oak Tree
The Oak has been recorded in British history since the
interglacial periods, around 300,000 years ago! It was the most common tree in our forests about 5,000
years ago and still is today.
The English Oak has always been seen as the national tree of
England and its great height, age and
strength have made it the king of the English forest and a symbol of
endurance.
Acorns grow in clusters and are an important source of food for many birds and small mammals, particularly jays
and squirrels who cache away the acorns for later consumption. Being deciduous, oaks lose their leaves in
winter. They have been a prized source of timber since prehistoric times and
it's said that an oak tree hid king Charles II from the Roundheads at
Boscobel.
These magnificent trees grow to well over 30 metres and can live for 1,000 years or more. Flowering begins in late spring, with the fruits (acorns) ripening in time for autumn.