Sycamore Gap tree lives on with legacy plan revealed on first anniversary of its felling

Over the last 12 months the partnership jointly led by the National Trust and Northumberland National Park Authority and Historic England have been working together with other partners to find inspiring ways to ensure the legacy of this iconic tree lives on.

Today, The Northumberland National Park Authority, unveils the first phase of the Sycamore Gap exhibition at The Sill: National Landscape Recovery Centre.

The exhibition, developed by artist Charlie Whinney and Creative Communities CIC, will see the largest section of the original tree’s wood installed at The Sill in a temporary exhibition that invites people to be part of the artwork.

Opening the exhibition, 240 children from 13 local schools will take part in a celebration of the tree’s life to mark the anniversary.

Also today, the National Trust is announcing the opportunity for people to request one of the Sycamore Gap saplings. Its ‘Trees of Hope’ initiative, where 49 saplings – one to represent each foot of the height that the tree was at the time of felling, will be gifted to communities around the country. To apply visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/TreesOfHope

The anniversary exhibition at The Sill – which centres around the themes of people, place and hope, aims to provide space for people to remember the tree, and then move forward positively. This will mark the ‘one year on’ moment, and open to the public at The Sill, the gateway to the National Park on Saturday, September 28.

As part of the exhibition, visitors will be invited to make promises to nature. These promises will go on to be incorporated into the second and final phase of the commission to ensure the legacy of the tree reflects people, place and nature. This final exhibition is set to open at The Sill by Easter 2025.

Charlie Whinney of ‘Creative Communities CIC’ art collective said: “We are inviting people to make promises to nature which will find their way into the final piece of art.

“This show is the halfway part of our project, processing what happened, what the tree meant to everyone, and the wonderful regrowth which now counts at 25 new shoots. It marks the beginning of our public engagement process.

“Going forward, we hope to empower people with a sense of joy and hope for the natural world through positive actions, which starts now.”

The commission has been funded by £50,000 from The Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland.

Andrew Poad, general manager for the National Trust’s Hadrian Wall properties says: “The last 12 months have been a real rollercoaster of emotions from the hopelessness and grief we felt when we discovered that the tree had been illegally felled, to experiencing the stories shared with us about just what the tree meant to so many.

“One of the first actions that served us so well was the collection of some of the seeds from the tree. These were sent straight away to the Trust’s Plant Conservation Centre in Devon where the team have worked tirelessly to successfully propagate over 100 seedlings and grafted nine other saplings – so we have the tree’s descendants for the future.”