Sycamore Gap sapling set for new Byker community hub

The Lighthouse Project at St Michael's Church in Byker, which is set to open in the spring, will provide a safe and central meeting place where young people and the community can flourish, with access to a wide variety of activities and services for around 1,500 young people and families each year, alongside a reimagined worship space.

The announcement, in this week’s National Tree Week, follows the National Trust’s invitation on the anniversary of the felling of the much-loved tree at the end of September for applications for one of the saplings grown from its seed.

Nearly 500 applications were received for the 49 saplings, one to represent each foot in height that the tree was at the time of felling.

The saplings are currently being cared for at the National Trust’s Plant Conservation Centre and should be strong and sturdy enough ready to plant out next winter.

The Lighthouse Project will offer a broad range of activities and services centred around young people, including an open access youth club for juniors and seniors, homework clubs, family health & wellbeing programmes, mentoring & detached youth work spaces and crime & drug abuse and prevention educations.

Alternative classroom provision, arts & performance spaces and programmes, a music studio and rehearsal space, and office, meeting & storage facilities for local community partner organisations will also be available, while the building will provide a new home for the Byker Scout Group.

Ben Roman, operations director at The Lighthouse Project, said: “Our outside spaces will play a very important role in the life of the Lighthouse Project, with some beautiful trees already in place. It’s a huge honour and privilege for us to now be receiving one of the Sycamore Gap saplings to plant among them.

“We felt we offered a perfect example of the type of regeneration and renewal that the Trees of Hope project embodies, and that having one of the saplings here would be something very significant for the wider local community.

“Byker might not be somewhere that you’d expect this sapling to naturally find a home, but it will hopefully help the beautiful green spaces and natural resources that there already are across the area gain greater recognition.

“Our Sycamore Gap sapling will be looked after and nurtured here in the same way that we’re aiming to look after and nurture young people in our community, and we can’t wait to see something so special arriving in Byker.”

The new homes for the 49 Sycamore Gap saplings will all be in publicly accessible spaces, enabling many more people to feel part of the iconic tree’s legacy.

Andrew Poad, General Manager for the National Trust’s Hadrian Wall properties, said: “Each and every application for a ‘Tree of Hope’ told heartfelt stories of people’s emotional connections to the Sycamore Gap tree and the importance of nature. They spoke of loss, hope and regeneration from all four corners of the country, from towns, schools, colleges, community groups, hospitals and hospices, it’s been a privilege to read them all.

“The tree meant so much to so many and through the ‘Trees of Hope’ initiative we are helping reach people across the nation, for generations to come.

“Each sapling will carry a message of hope with it as they start a new chapter, not just for the tree, but for all the 49 people and communities that will receive a sapling next year.”

The entries were judged by a panel of experts from the National Trust led by independent judge and arboriculture specialist Catherine Nuttgens.

Catherine commented: “The Sycamore is one of the most architecturally beautiful trees in our landscape. In summer, their dark green leaves create a canopy that looks almost like broccoli, while in winter, they create a silhouette that perfectly depicts what we think of when we think of a tree.

“The loss of any tree can evoke strong emotions - none more so than the Sycamore Gap tree. Its destruction felt utterly senseless, destroying the simple joy it brought to so many people for so many reasons. But the ‘Trees of Hope initiative has kept that sense of joy and hope alive, and it has been truly humbling to read through so many applications but a difficult task to select the final 49 recipients.

“The stories have come from every corner of the UK and every walk of life. Their words reflect the hope and kindness that human beings are capable of, which feels like such a fitting response to the loss of this precious tree.”

As part of the ‘Trees of Hope’ initiative, Henshaw Church of England Primary School as the closest school to the Sycamore Gap Tree, ‘Tina’s Haven’ in East Durham, ‘Fergus’s Tree in south Bristol along with all 15 UK National Parks will receive a sapling.

For more information and to find out where in the country all of the 49 ‘Trees of Hope’ saplings will go visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/TreesOfHope.

The Lighthouse Project is being made possible with the award of a £4.2m grant from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport's Youth Investment Fund, and through the generosity of Lord Crewe Trust and The Squires Foundation.

For further information, please visit https://thelighthouseproject.org.uk/