Discover the stories that trees carry — and the people who carry them. From heartfelt memories and poems to films, songs and art inspired by trees, this page is our treasure trove of voices and experiences. Each story shows how trees shape our lives, our wellbeing and our sense of place — whether in Glasgow or beyond.
Some trees are compasses, and some are flags. If a flag tells you where you are, a compass can potentially tell you how to get there or how to find someplace else.
Carl Phillips, Among the Trees
Online resources
- Melbourne Urban Forest
- Forestry and Woodland Strategy for the Glasgow City Region 2020
- The Paris Greening Programme
Books and academic journals
Would you like to read about trees? Here are some of our favourite books that relate to trees! Like a tree, this list will keep slowly growing over time, so check back for more…
- If Trees Could Speak: Stories Of Australia’s Greatest Trees- Bob Beale
- Every Tree has a Story- Cécile Benoist, Charlotte Gaustaut (Illustrator)
- The Hidden Life of Trees- Peter Wohlleben
- The Magic Faraway Tree- Enid Blyton
- The Giving Tree- Shel Silverstein
- The Glorious Trees of Great Britain- Piers Browne
- The Social Life of Trees: Anthropological Perspectives on Tree Symbolism- Laura Rival
We also have a few favourite academic journal papers that relate to trees in different ways that might be useful knowledge and references to consider.
- Gawith et al (2020) Socio-ecological mapping generates public understanding of wilding conifer incursion
- Hines, R. (1991) On Valuing Nature
Cadder Primary School – The Film of the Book
“Every Tree” explained and explored on the Future Cities Podcast
Clair Cooper is joined by Gillian Dick, Strategic Planning Manager with Glasgow City Council, and Donagh Horgan from the Institute of Social Innovation at the University of Strathclyde to talk about Every Tree Tells a Story.
Every Tree Tells a Story is an innovative new nature-based solution that aims to help communities reconnect with urban nature, particularly urban trees, and understand what are nature-based solutions by sharing and mapping their favourite stories about trees.
In the podcast Gillian and Donagh talk to Claire about their inspiration for the project, how it relates to the concept of nature-based solutions, and explain our deep connection with trees. Gillian and Donagh then talk about why it’s so important that we educate people about the role of trees in the fight against climate change and how they plan to help people reconnect with trees through community participation and mapping of stories about our favourite trees.
Every Tree Tells a Story – by Tam Dean Burn
Every Tree Tells a Story by Tam Dean Burn Every tree tells a story, If we listen carefully High tales of leafy, woody, glory Their branches reach to you and me. Old knarly oaks or fresh young saplings All have a tale to tell. See their sunny bark-faced dapplings. Hear the Glasgow tree and bell.
Walter Bernadini’s Camel in the Cathkins, from his “My Dear Old Glasgow Years”
“1060 Tollcross Road was such a change from our old house in Shettleston….but it might bring back memories of Glasgow at that time. The front-room window looked over the Vale’s park, with Shettleston and the sand quarry beyond. From the kitchen, you could see over the back green, which was fenced off with four washing-line posts at either end. Over the wall from the wash house and the bin space was the well-tended cemetery, much visited on Sundays, adjoining the Central church, and, further still, Clyde Iron Works. Beyond that again we had an expansive view, taking in the Cathkin braes, which stretched down past Dixon’s Blazes, and ended with the familiar shape of Rutherglen town hall.
There were also three distinctive tree formations on the Cathkins, in the middle, just above Cambuslang. … the camel is still there and what could pass for a buffalo or a bison could also be seen on the horizon.
There were also three distinctive tree formations on the Cathkins, in the middle, just above Cambuslang. In my childhood imaginings they were HMS Nelson, while on top of the hills I saw a camel and a buffalo. These tree formations have changed over the years. I was a passenger in my daughter’s car driving past the scene while on a return visit to Scotland, some seventy-five years later, and while HMS Nelson had become indiscernible due to a change in growth patterns, the camel is still there and what could pass for a buffalo or a bison could also be seen on the horizon. It brought back my childhood and you can call me a romantic old git if you like, but as Clark Gable said to Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind, ‘Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.’ “
Every Tree Tells a Story 