Dear supporters of the Happy Man Tree,
At last, some good news! You may have heard recently that our much loved 150 year old London Plane tree has been voted The Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year for England. The Friends of the Happy Man Tree couldn’t be happier! But we still need your support for our new legal challenge.
In case you missed it, you can read about this historic win on BBC News and ITV News. You can also watch this video of the tree shared by The Woodland Trust to see the tree in all its glory and read their press release here. To read our full statement following the announcement, click here.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who voted for the Happy Man Tree - we couldn’t have done it without you! We’d also like to express our thanks to The Woodland Trust for their kind support.
This is a victory not only for our campaign to save the Happy Man Tree, but for street trees everywhere that are neglected and sacrificed in pursuit of developments and corporate interests. It is a mark of recognition for how dependent we are on them in our efforts to reverse the climate and ecological crisis. It’s also a show of gratitude and respect for the cultural and social role they play in our local communities. Now more than ever, we need street trees, and street trees need us.
The Happy Man Tree – Our Campaign Continues!
This is especially true of our beloved Happy Man Tree. Sadly, despite being crowned Tree of the Year 2020, the future of the tree remains uncertain following planning permission granted by Hackney Council on 9th September that would include it being felled. But we’re not giving up. In fact, we’re more determined than ever.
So, what next you ask? The answer is simple: we’re now fundraising £3,000 to explore further legal action that could save the tree.
We’re over a third of the way to our target already and are so grateful to everyone who has already donated! We completely understand that many people face severe financial hardship right now and any support you’re able to give, big or small, is hugely appreciated. Beyond donating, we’d love it if you could please share our work with your networks to help raise awareness. Every post, like and comment helps more people to #noticethistree!
To read our full update, support and share the next stage of our campaign, check out our Crowd Justice page.
#noticethistree
As part of The Woodland Trust’s Tree of the Year announcement, Adam Cormack, Head of Campaigning said: 'The local community has made a powerful case to retain the tree, adopting the slogan #noticethistree. We did notice, and so did thousands more.
'In too many places we see well-loved mature trees lost to development rather than designed into plans from the start. When this happens it's a lose-lose situation. The tree itself is lost and people lose something that made their lives better.'
We couldn’t agree more. That’s why we’re determined to preserve the Happy Man Tree and all of the wonderful things it has gifted to us. We’re a local community led campaign run entirely by volunteers with no formal funding. Our love for the Happy Man tree has united us in these difficult times and we hope this tree can continue to bring joy to our community and so many more beyond for decades to come. We need everyone, especially decision makers and those in power, to #noticethistree now to preserve it for future generations.
Please donate to our crowdfunder
Thank you, as ever, for your ongoing support!
With love and gratitude, The Friends of the Happy Man Tree