Ancient trees feature in history, art and local legends. They provide habitats for a host of animal, plant and insect species. There are around 100,000 ancient trees in the UK, and the more we know about them, the better we can protect them.
The Woodland Trust is recruiting and training thousands of volunteers for the Ancient Tree Hunt, who are helping to record the UK's oldest trees. One way in which the Trust has involved young volunteers is by working with Venture Scout groups (the section of the Scout Association for 15-to-21 year olds).
While Venture Scouts had already recorded many ancient trees, activities based on lessons learned from the Ancient Tree Hunt have now been adopted as part of the Scout's wider programme. According to the Ancient Tree Hunt's project manager, Nicky Williams, recruiting people is a question of "building a relationship with a partner organisation so that we can make contact with their volunteers".