This year the Woodland Trust’s annual competition to find The Tree of the Year 2021 is moving to social media.

This enables the public to vote for their #TreeOfTheWeek via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

The Woodland Trust’s expert team of tree appreciators choose a winner each week at 1 pm on Friday.

At the end of the year they will create a shortlist of special trees and ask the public to help them choose a Tree of the Year for the UK.

The winning tree will be entered into a Europe-wide competition the following year.

Thanks to Kevin Stanley from Ruskington who used Twitter to spread the word and with the hashtag #TreeOfTheWeek - Saundersfoot’s iconic ‘Lonely Tree’ was chosen on the September 10.

Kevin said: “As a regular visitor to Saundersfoot, an enthusiastic tree surveyor, and a Woodland Trust volunteer I entered the Saundersfoot Lonely tree into the #treeoftheweek competition.

“I congratulate the people of Saundersfoot on coming together striving to save it from being felled!

“As the winner of #TreeoftheWeek this 83 year old Monterey cypress will now be entered into the #TreeoftheYear competition.

“I’m sure that the people of Saundersfoot will support it by voting for it should it get on the final shortlist.

“I also added it to the Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Inventory which will offer it extra protection as this is a nationally recognised database of important trees,” added Kevin.

Clr. Martin Williams BEM and Chairman of Saunderfoot’s ‘Lonely Tree Preservation Society’ commented: “How delighted we are to hear this welcome news from Kevin and the Woodland Trust and let’s hope this leads to further accolade for our much loved wonder of nature.”

Some of the 1.5k members of the Save Saundersfoot Lonely Tree group have expressed their delight at the news.

Helen Leather said: “It’s a massive pleasure seeing Saundersfoot’s ‘Lonely Tree’ in this positive light and it totally deserves it, it is a beautiful natural asset.”

Heather Canlon from Hillingdon remarked: “We will all be rooting for our tree!”

Nicky Mallen founder and chair of the ‘Save Saundersfoot’s Lonely Tree’ group and treasurer of Saundersfoot’s Lonely Tree Preservation Society told the Observer: “We posted more details about our campaign and had a lovely personal response from The Woodland Trust.

“They thanked us for sharing this and said - ‘it was really great to see a community coming together’ to save their local tree.”

She went on to say Woodland Trust Cymru have also thanked Kevin for submitting a tree from Wales.

Saundersfoot’s Lonely Tree Preservation Society are indebted to all the members of The Friends of Saundersfoot and District, Saundersfoot in Bloom, Save Saundersfoot’s Lonely Tree Group and Saundersfoot Community Council for lending their support and getting behind Saundersfoot’s newest community group.

To find out more about the story of Saundersfoot’s ‘Lonely Tree’ and the fight to save it join Save Saundersfoot’s Lonely Tree group on Facebook.