Gardeners and nature lovers are being asked to help identify mature elm trees still growing in gardens, parks and the wider countryside that have survived Dutch elm disease which is estimated to have killed off some 25 million elms across the UK during the 1970’s.
The Conservation Foundation now believes more elms may have survived than is commonly thought and has launched the Great British Elm Search to try and find them. Contributors can upload sightings onto an inter-active map, along with photographs and tree details, which are then verified by elm experts.
These records will help build a clearer picture of the state of the elm population and enable scientists to find out why some individuals have natural resistance, potentially helping elms return to the British countryside.
Nearly 1000 specimens have so far been recorded in the public database located at conservationfoundation.co.uk/elms/.
Some of Witham’s surviving elms have already been recorded by our very own WTG committee member, Eric Teverson including our most prominent specimen located opposite Lyndfields Garage, London Road.
