It's nearly time for Prime!

Our Prime Tree project will track our 350-year-old oak tree to discover how mature trees respond to climate change

We'll soon be launching our new Prime Tree project that we introduced earlier this year. 

This will track our 350-year-old oak tree to discover how mature trees respond to climate change. Researchers will monitor its growth, the health of its canopy, and the wildlife that depends on it. The tree will serve as a living laboratory, linking ongoing ecological research across Wytham Woods to the wider scientific community - and the public.

Which is where you come in!

As the first part of living lab, the team have now put up a Chronolog post near the tree, like the others dotted through the woods. Visitors can now take photos of the prime tree from a consistent place by putting their phones on the post, and uploading their images, to create a long-term record of how the tree changes over the seasons and years. 

For more information and updates on how the project is progressing, please follow Wytham Woods on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram and search for #WWPrimeTreeProject.

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Veteran oaks

Our Prime Tree is probably 350 years old. Our oldest oak - Broad Oak - is probably 680 years old.

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Help us to make a new woodland in November!

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