Talking Trees at Ely

I recently had the privilege of being invited to deliver the 2025 Osmond Lecture at King’s Ely School. While there I was given a personal introduction to the Great London Plane Tree of Ely.

King’s Ely School was founded in 970, making it one of the oldest schools in the world. The students (aged 2-18) are very much connected to the modern day world however, thanks in part to their participation in national Science Week. In fact, it was Science Week which led to my invitation because the school had chosen to focus on trees for the 2025 event. The topic of trees was inspired by a truly awesome specimen of London Plane which grows in the school grounds.

It’s thought that the Great Plane Tree of Ely was gifted to the Bishop of Ely by Charles II in 1674 to plant in his palace garden, which now falls within the grounds of King’s Ely school. The tree now has a girth of about 10m, and its three huge main stems stretch more than 30m in height. The top of the tree is visible from nearby streets, but the tree itself is only accessible by invitation so I was delighted to have a personal introduction to the tree by David Day (Chair of the Board of Governors) and Will Temple (Manager of Grounds and Gardens).

I then headed inside to deliver my lecture to some 300 students from the senior school, plus staff and governors. I talked about the art and science of forestry. I was delighted by the great questions which followed, and was pleased to gift a signed copy of The Tree Almanac 2025 to a student who won an interactive tree quiz.

I was delighted to learn that the school had recently been successful in fundraising to undertake conservation work on the tree. They are also conducting cutting edge science in understanding more about the tree so that they can care for it long into the future. News of the funding broke on the same day as my lecture – read article on the BBC. The grant will also support public open days so that more people can enjoy visiting the tree.

Find out more about King’s Ely School