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This Old Tree
Old trees are awe inspiring links to the past that fire our imagination. What are their stories? Seasoned arborist and amateur historian Doug Still interviews local experts, historians, and regular folks to celebrate the myths and uncover the real tales. If you're a tree lover, join in to look "beyond the plaque" at heritage trees and the human stories behind them. Monthly.
Episodes
28 episodes
London's Charlton House Mulberry
Did you know the British are mad about mulberries? A 415 yr-old black mulberry tree stands at Charlton House & Gardens, the oldest specimen in London and highly beloved. Its story involves King James I and a courtier named Sir Adam Ne...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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1:01:18
Saving Seeds: Bartram's Franklin Tree
John Bartram was a Quaker farmer near Philadelphia in the mid 18th century. So how did he become North America's first great botanist? And how did he and his son William find themselves in the wilds of southeastern Georgia, fighting off rain, h...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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1:02:53
The Tree That Owns Itself
Legend has it that Col. William H. Jackson of Athens, Georgia loved his old white oak tree very much. So much, that he created a deed for the tree and the land immediately surrounding it, giving ownership unto itself. Could it be...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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1:01:58
The Mariner and the Mulberry
A large old mulberry tree at Truro Vineyards on Cape Cod comes with a legend. A sea captain brought it back from the South Pacific and planted it for his young wife. Or his girlfriend. Or someone named Amelia. Is this story true? Who was the ca...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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55:39
Tree Story Shorts III
Here's the third edition of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, where guests get to tell their own tree stories! Charles Darwin, bride and groom trees, a massive American elm in Illinois, Al Capone, original tree-inspired mu...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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35:34
Europe's 2023 Tree of the Year: The Fabrykant Oak
The Fabrykant Oak, translated as the "Factory Owner's Oak," received 45,000 votes to become Europe's Tree of the Year. Located in Łódź, it captures the hearts of people in its home country of Poland and around the world. Full of personality and...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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1:01:55
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The Emancipation Oak
A 300 yr-old Live Oak tree on the campus of Hampton University in Virginia stuns visitors with its strength and beauty. It’s also an enduring symbol of a watershed moment in American history - the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation durin...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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1:09:59
The Autograph Tree
A stunning copper beech tree in Ireland’s County Galway attracts tourists from around the world. Lady Gregory was its owner, and she drew legendary writers of her day to her house and garden at Coole Park - William Butler Yeats, George Bernard ...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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1:02:53
Trees in Song: Season 1 Finale
This season 1 recap features thematic highlights from the first 18 episodes, Doug's favorite songs about trees, and an interview with Dee Lee, arborist and songwriter!Featured Songs and ArtistsRedwood Tree, Van M...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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57:50
Texas Shade: The Founders' Oak
The Founders' Oak in New Braunfels is a "Famous Tree of Texas." The 300 yr-old live oak has given shelter to a Spanish Mission, a German Prince who brought thousands of settlers, old Texas families that date back to the Alamo, and the Comanche ...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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59:14
Preservation is Progress: The Brontë Oak
The Brontë Oak is a massive white oak tree in Oakville, Ontario that has been threatened by every type of construction project imaginable. Logging, overhead power lines, a regional water conduit, highway expansion, you name it. But in the face ...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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55:31
The Moses Cleaveland Trees
In 1946, 153 "Moses Cleaveland Trees" were chosen as landmark trees to represent the City of Cleveland's 150-yr anniversary. Not only did they harken back to the pre-settlement forest - they were in fact part of it. The existence of each one be...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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54:03
The Imperial Pine Bonsai
The stately "Imperial Pine" is the only bonsai ever to leave the Japanese Emperor's collection, and it resides at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC. Listen to the behind-the-scenes s...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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59:13
The Katsura at Dumbarton Oaks
Meet the charming old katsura tree in Beatrix Farrand’s famous garden at Dumbarton Oaks. It might be the oldest katsura in North America, or maybe not, but its origins relate to the burgeoning interest in Japanese trees and plants in the second...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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47:55
Tree Story Shorts II
This is the second edition of Tree Story Shorts on This Old Tree, where listeners get to contribute and tell their own tree stories! From New York to California to China and Nepal, listen to what people have to say about the t...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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49:33
The Major Oak of Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest in the County of Nottinghamshire lays claim to a world famous tree, The Major Oak. It may well have harbored Robin Hood and his merry men, or perhaps people like them. Admirers from all over the world visit the...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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59:59
The Birthing Tree
There's a huge, spreading, 350 yr old plus white oak in McMinnville, Tennessee with a legend. It was known to the early pioneers, and it's now a state landmark tree. Listen to its story told by Warren County Historian Jimmy Haley, and former st...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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48:16
Guarding the Cedars: Gilgamesh, and John Perlin's "A Forest Journey"
Gilgamesh, the Sumerian king of Uruk, threatens to cut down the sacred Cedar Forest and claim its wood for his people. First, he must kill the terrifying guardian of the forest, Humbaba. Can he do it? What will the gods think, and what will it ...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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56:57
The Charter Oak
King James II of England threatened to revoke the precious Charter of Connecticut in 1687, and sent one of his men to retrieve it. That meant an end to the colony's limited democracy and independence. But before it was exchanged during a ...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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59:59
Harlem's Tree of Hope
Picture yourself in Harlem in New York City, and it’s the 1920’s. There’s a cultural awakening going on - there’s jazz and dance, theater and literature, big celebrities and lots of new talent looking for a break. And of course - because this i...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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45:15
Tree Story Shorts
This a special episode of This Old Tree, the show that features heritage trees and the human stories behind them. This time, listeners tell their own tree stories! From Vermont to California to Hawaii, listen to what people ha...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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31:06
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Luna Endures: A Redwood's Survival Tale
Luna is a 200 ft tall redwood tree that towers on a ridge deep within a privately owned forest in northern California. You may remember Julia Butterfly Hill's remarkable 2-year "tree sit" in the 1990's that helped save the tree and shed light o...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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1:00:55
The Mies van der Rohe Honeylocust of the Alfred Caldwell Grove
A big, old, thorny honeylocust tree on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago has a place within the history of modernist architecture and landscape design. How so? Professor and landscape architect Ron Henderson talks ab...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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56:07
The First 9/11 Survivor Trees
The Survivor Tree is a well known tree planted at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City that was rescued from the rubble at the World Trade Center site after the terrorist attacks. It has become a stirring symbol of re...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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51:36
Chronicling a Tree: Thoreau's Concord Elm
Concord, Massachusetts, 1856. Four men cut down a huge, seemingly healthy American elm tree using block and tackle, and ropes drawn by a horse. The graceful tree towered above a house whose owners heard creaking during a storm - they felt unsaf...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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59:01
