Tree Route phone app, National Gallery talks and historic tree walks

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has confirmed details for this year's London Tree Week, which returns on Saturday 23 May and runs until Sunday 31 May. Over the week, there will be an exciting range of free events happening across London including tree walks in Greenwich and Richmond Parks, events in association with the National Gallery and the Museum of Walking and family activities at Stave Hill Ecological Park. Now in its third year, London Tree Week was set up by the mayor to celebrate trees in the capital and to encourage people to care for their local greenery. Amateur and professional photographers alike will be able to take part in the London Tree Week Photo Sharing Challenge by uploading photos of trees to Instagram or Twitter. Whether it’s the oldest, tallest, widest or most unusual tree, the public can tag their photos using #LondonTreeWeek and share a snap of a tree that has made a difference to their leafy part of London. The Mayor also encouraged Londoners to download the free Tree Route app, which uses London’s famous Tube map to showcase the selection of trees we have in the capital, and includes must-see trees near each station including a Swamp Cypress near St Paul’s and a rare wild Black Poplar in Angel. Green fingered people are invited to join the Conservation Volunteers, who lend their support to a variety of community projects which include Dulwich Upper Wood and the Greenwich Meantime Tree Nursery. Increasing tree cover is a priority for the Mayor who has funded a range of projects during his mayoralty including 20,000 extra street trees planted across the capital. London Tree Week 2015 - highlights include: Saturday 23 May · Can’t see the wood for the trees - National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, 11:00am-12:00am - Richard Stemp will lead a tour of paintings which involve trees in different ways. Some show specific trees, while others tell stories about trees - and many are painted on trees. · Family activities at Ecological Park - Stave Hill, SE16 6AX, 11:00am-3:30pm - Join The Conservation for woodland activities for 8-16 year olds, Stave Hill Ecological Park is a 5.2 acre nature area located on the site of Stave Dock in the centre of the former Surrey Commercial Dock, near Rotherhithe. · Bloomsbury Squares Tree Walk - 2:00pm-3.00pm - A great chance to see some of the area’s splendid and unusual trees such as the beautiful Mecklenburgh Square garden which is normally closed to the public and London’s second oldest plane tree in Brunswick Square, one of the city’s top ten trees. · WildLondoner and #LondonTreeWeek photo sharing - 23-24 May – a challenge to photograph and share as many different species of London’s wildlife as possible in just 48 hours. Tuesday 26 May · Tree Routes exhibition at City Hall - Map area, lower ground floor, 8:30am-6:00pm - helps to find important trees of London using the Tree Routes app. · Woodland management at Queen’s Wood - N10 3JP, 10:00am-3:00pm -The Conservation Volunteers will help improve Queens Wood. · Volunteer at the Greenwich Meantime Tree and Plant Nursery- SE10 0FT, 10:00am-3:00pm - Join the Conservation Volunteers to carry out tasks at the Meantime Plant Nursery. This community nursery within the Greenwich Village uses vacant development land to grow plants and trees, creating a community resource for nature conservation, biodiversity and sustainability. · Woodland management at Dulwich Upper Wood - SE19 1SS, 10:30am-4:00pm - Join the Conservation Volunteers in Dulwich Upper Wood to help manage the woodland. Dulwich Upper Wood is managed by the The Conservation Volunteers as a nature reserve, educational facility, research area and a place of recreation. · Arboreal obsessions: Titian's 'Noli me Tangere' - National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Room 2, 1:00pm-1:30pm - Matthias Wivel gives a lunchtime talk to celebrate some notable depictions of trees in the gallery’s collection. Free. No booking required. · Tree or False? - Mary Geraldine Harmsworth Gardens, Imperial War Museum, London, SE1 6HZ, 6:30pm-8:30pm - Sort the truth from the trees at this special ‘walkshop’ which busts a few myths about certain tree species. FREE – but booking is essential. Wednesday 27 May · Ten Acre and Gutteridge Woods Healthy Walk - Meeting point: Charville Library, Bury Avenue, Hillingdon, UB4 8LF, 11:00am-12:30pm - Countryside and conservation officer Alison Shipley leads this four mile walk through Hillingdon’s Ten Acre and Gutteridge Woods. No booking required, but you’ll need to complete a brief health walks form first. · Oak processionary moth awareness - Holly Lodge, Richmond Park, TW10 5HS, 11:00am-2:00pm – Andrew Hoppit from the Forestry Commission leads this event which is for anyone with an interest in this area, particularly those who either own or manage oak trees. · Mandeville Place Community Orchard launch - Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, 12:00pm-4:00pm – A celebration of the opening of Mandeville Place Community Orchard and new pavilion in the centre of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. There will be free activities such as face-painting, story-telling, apple-bobbing, roaming theatre performances and ‘have a go’ sports like boccia and wheelchair basketball. Thursday 28 May · Woodland management at Coldfall Woods, Creighton Avenue, Muswell Hill, Haringey N2, 10:00am-3:00pm - Join The Conservation Volunteers in Coldfall Woods to help manage the woodland. · Greenwich Park Tree Walk, 10:30am-1:00pm -Join a Royal Parks arboricultural officer for a tour of Greenwich’s trees and flower gardens. · Silent Witnesses - Start: Euston Bus Station, Euston Road, NW1 2BN, 6:30pm-8:30pm - The Museum of Walking and artist Susan Trangmar run this special walkshop to celebrate Platanus x acerifolia and how the prolific planting of this tree’s framed the city. FREE – but booking is essential. Saturday 30 May · Stalking the Hardy Ash – 29 -30 May - Start: Kentish Town BR/ Tube station, 10:00am-12:00pm -Some 150 years ago poet and novelist Thomas Hardy was an architect’s technician in charge of excavating the graveyard in Old St Pancras churchyard. This photography walkshop with Peter Coles will explore this extraordinary feature and other unusual trees nearby that Hardy himself would have seen. FREE – but booking is essential. Sunday 31 May · Isabella Plantation Tree Walk - Richmond Park, Broomfield Hill Gate, 11:00am-1:00pm - Jo Scrivener, the park’s assistant manager, leads this special tour of Isabella Plantation, Richmond Park’s 40 acre woodland garden. The tour will focus on its large collection of exotic trees. Free. No booking required. MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Press information is available from Jake Alexander on 020 7983 4161 [email protected] / Rachelle Laurence on 020 7983 4599, or email [email protected] (press only - not for publication) PUBLIC/NON-MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Call the Public Liaison Unit at the Greater London Authority on 020 7983 4100 DUTY PRESS OFFICER: For out-of-hours media enquiries, please call 020 7983 4000 Notes · Download the Tree-Routes app to help you find important trees of London using the capital’s famous Tube and Overground map. App available here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tree-routes/id762281812?mt=8 · London Tree Week Photo Sharing Challenge – a selection of photos shared on Instagram and Twitter during the week using the hashtag #LondonTreeWeek will be showcased on the City Hall website. · London Tree Week is part of the RE:LEAF partnership’s work to protect and increase the number of trees in London.