A 75-year-old cedar planted in the parish of Runa, in the municipality of Torres Vedras, won this year’s edition of the “Tree of the Year” contest and will represent Portugal in the European competition next month.
In an edition in which more than 50 nominations were submitted, the Runa cedar reached the final stage and won with more than 3,000 votes, with an Australian rubber tree in Ponta Delgada finishing in second place and a camphor tree in Bencanta, Coimbra, in third.
The cedar of the church of Runa, as explained in a statement by the União da Floresta Mediterrânica (UNAC), which organizes the contest in Portugal, was planted in the 1950s and has become part of the village’s history and identity.
Quoting the Parish Council of Runa, promoter of the candidacy, the cedar “deserves to affirm itself as a symbol of the village of Runa and of the municipality of Torres Vedras.”
The Tree of the Year Portugal contest is an initiative integrated into the European competition “European Tree of the Year,” which distinguishes trees with remarkable stories and promotes the link between nature and local communities.
The Runa cedar will now represent Portugal in the European phase of the contest, which takes place in February, competing with the trees chosen in the remaining 15 participating countries.
The contest has been run annually since 2011 by the Environmental Partnership Association (EPA), an environmental organization from Central and Eastern Europe that operates in six countries, and its mission is to value trees as natural and cultural heritage of Europe, highlighting the ecosystem services they provide.
UNAC explains that the competition does not distinguish the “most beautiful” tree but rather the one whose history is more deeply rooted in the community where it stands and in the lives of its inhabitants.
The European initiative raises awareness each year among thousands of people about nature, promoting care and concern for 16 trees from as many countries.
Last year a Polish beech won the international contest, with Portugal finishing in second place with the so-called “Figueira dos Amores,” a fig tree from Australia planted in the gardens of Quinta das Lágrimas, in Coimbra.
The businessman Miguel Júdice received at the ceremony the distinction for second place and spoke of the merit of someone planting trees that he will not live to see mature, and recalled the relationship with the Quinta das Lágrimas tree, which is owned by the family.
UNAC joined the initiative for the first time as national organizer in 2018, the year in which a Portuguese tree won the contest—the cork oak “Assobiador,” in Águas de Moura, municipality of Palmela.
UNAC represents the interests of forestry producers in the Portuguese Mediterranean space before national and European institutions.
