“One needs to have a hero” – Cape Town’s Champion Trees

Champion Trees are protected trees that connect us to our history and natural environment. Clare Burgess, (professional landscape architect and Chair of TreeKeepers, Cape Town) in conversation with Tamsin Faragher explains how they also connect us to our future.

The South African Champion Trees initiative took root in 1998 when there was a strong movement to remove very large trees, especially Gums, which were perceived as ecologically unfriendly trees. Izak van der Merwe of the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries was involved with starting the project to look for “the biggest, oldest and those trees with interesting stories attached to them”. A category was then added to the act [National Forests Act of 1998] that provides protection to both exotic and indigenous Champion trees such as the exotic Camphor trees (Cinnamomum camphora) at Vergelegen wine estate in Somerset West. Interestingly, these particular trees had been declared national monuments way back in 1942 long before the idea of Champion Trees was developed in South Africa.

The difference between a Champion Tree and a heritage tree is linked to the legislation which protects them. The Champion Tree category evaluates trees from a scientific forestry perspective using criteria such as size, age and species. Heritage trees, on the other hand use a variety of criteria including little-known cultural practices or historic storylines that are more difficult to evaluate. Consequently, there are differing opinions about what constitutes a heritage tree among heritage practitioners and Heritage Western Cape.

Clare has experienced these differing opinions through her TreeKeepers experience. She notes that there is seldom a protection method for conserving trees on a heritage property, unless they have been specifically identified when a building has been listed as a heritage resource. It is therefore difficult to stop old trees being removed for new development unless they fall into a municipal Heritage Protection Overlay Zone. Sadly this is not particularly effective because not all heritage buildings occur in these zones.

Champion Trees would however be protected, regardless of the applicability of a heritage zone. There are however very few eligible Champion Trees in the Western Cape because trees grow slowly here, which makes it difficult to compete nationally and limits the efficacy of the Champion Tree category as a protection mechanism. In response to this limitation, the City of Cape Town is seeking to establish Local Champion Trees as an alternative category.

“Champion Trees in particular are a very good ambassador for trees because most people are in awe of them. When you go and see a Champion Trees, you’ll understand…”

Cape Town is fortunate to have six Champion Trees in a single location at the Arderne Gardens in Claremont. It is one of the few places where trees of this incredible stature and size can be seen and are a testament to the garden’s visionary, Ralph Henry Arderne who had the foresight to plant these trees in the late 1800s.

Sadly, in the future, there will be fewer because the number of large trees worldwide is diminishing. Researchers believe that trees planted now will never reach comparable sizes because the changing climate and polluted atmosphere inhibits growth and when combined with the general pressures on the environment, limits the amount of space available for them. As the last threatened Kauris in New Zealand or the Redwoods in the USA die, so it seems likely that they will be the last trees of the enormous size or age that people will see. We are living in the age when the old giants are finally dying out. Protecting what we currently have is therefore very important, including South Africa’s massive indigenous trees such as the Baobabs “that need a whole village to put their arms around them” and the Yellowwoods of incredible stature in the Knysna forests.

“We are living in the age when the old giants are finally dying out. Protecting what we have is therefore very important…”  

Clare describes how many of the students she teaches have never visited a really big tree and when she takes them to the Company’s Gardens for a site visit, they do a bit of tree hugging. On these site visits, trees are identified by the number of people it will take to hug them.

Some are “one-person” trees, but others take more. The Outeniqua Yellowwood (Afrocarpus falcatus) is a “six-person” tree and the giant Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica), which was recently declared a Champion Tree, is an “eight-person” tree. The massive buttress-type roots of this ficus have great appeal for children who love to play on and in it. Through their interactions children learn to revere trees and hopefully, will not carve their names in it.

The Company’s Gardens also has an “Arderne” Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) believed to have been planted by Ralph Henry Arderne. The original “Arderne” Norfolk Island Pine was bought from a passing ship’s captain sailing en route from Australia to London. Arderne was aboard the ship negotiating a timber purchase when he noticed the plants destined for Kew Gardens and added them (at a great price) to his purchase. These plants were planted out on his own property in what is now known as the Arderne Gardens. Seedlings were later distributed from the original trees to many other land owners, who prized them as status symbols.

Whilst there are a number of Norfolk Island Pines in the Arderne Gardens, only the biggest individual that stands surrounded by lawn is a Champion Tree. Other Champion Trees in the Gardens include the Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) with its massive surface roots and the Queensland Kauri (Agathis robusta) which is also an Australian species.

Interestingly the Friends of Arderne Gardens have tried to get other trees declared Champion Trees, including the Cape Ash (Ekebergia capensis), which is thought to have been brought from the Eastern Cape by Arderne. It is more than 100-years-old, which is rare for Cape Town, but because there are bigger examples elsewhere in the country, it may not be eligible. Another fascinating but ineligible tree is the 500-year-old “Treaty Tree”. This famous Milkwood tree (Sideroxylon inerme) has National Monument heritage status and is located in Woodstock. It was here that the British and Batavian colonists signed a treaty after the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806. The tree already had significance and was known as the “Old Slave Tree” due to its location near the beach where slaves were offloaded from ships and traded in the 1600’s.

These eminent trees embody South Africa’s “green” heritage. But will they survive nature’s own pandemic, the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) beetle? There is a high likelihood that they will not and that our existing trees in the urban forest will soon be dying en masse. It is clear that unless species that are not prone are identified and planted, our future cities’ will not have tree canopies – or Champion Trees.

“…will they survive nature’s own pandemic, the polyphagous shot hole borer beetle?”

Clare suggests that Gum trees may be a good option because they do not appear to be susceptible to the beetle threat and are part of a small number of hardy trees that survive the harsh Cape climate. Historically there was reluctance to grow them, but Clare believes that they are a good potential tree for marking out important urban access routes and open spaces.

“They are not appropriate as street trees but for parks, sports fields or along railway lines  they could be planted to delineate and highlight points of interest, which is how they were used originally as way-markers for farmers bringing their produce into the City from the countryside”.

Clare emphasises that every tree has its pros and cons. An example is the Water Berry (Syzigium cordatum), a frequently used indigenous street tree in Cape Town which can withstand strong winds and can also grow with its feet in water. This is important, as the residential areas on the Cape Flats have a high water table that often breaches the surface after the winter rains. However, the downside of the Water Berry is the abundant, red, messy fruit which drop onto streets causing stains to cars and paving. Yellowwood trees are similarly problematic eliciting endless public complaints about the droppings from fruit bats that feast on the fruits in season and stain property walls and cars. Joining the list of fruity trees are fig trees that not only drop masses of berries on the surface underneath their canopies, but also lift the surrounding paving with their roots. Their planting should therefore be limited to areas where there is plenty of space.

“The care of old trees is also expensive because they are like old age pensioners, they need a lot of care and attention”.

TreeKeepers, a volunteer organization run by Clare and a dedicated team of tree enthusiasts, have identified a number of potential Local Champion Trees. Many are located on private property which presents difficulties to private homeowners who are reluctant to attract the kind of attention a Champion Tree would focus on their home. In addition, the potential impact on a property’s sub-division and re-development value also discourages the private homeowners’ pursuance of Champion Trees. The care of old trees is also expensive because they are like old age pensioners; they need a lot of specialist care and attention. The City is custodian to thousands of mature trees which need skilled tree-care workers and there are currently not enough properly trained people to do the work. This lack of skills is compounded by the public sector tender system that unfortunately favours the cheapest bid which means that trees are seldom appropriately cared for.

“One needs to have a hero or something to relate to – the biggest, the tallest”.

Clare concludes that,“what is important for a tree-loving person is that Champion Trees provide trees with a status and that is the starting point of educating people about their significance and value. One needs to have a hero or something special to relate to – the biggest; the tallest; the oldest”.

Champion Trees are not only defined by their size or age. They are a living connection to our collective past and their role in the present and future cannot be underestimated, nor can our role in ensuring their future. The bigger question must therefore be – what kind of tree champion are you?

For more information on:

Treekeepers – treekeeperscapetown.org.za

Arderne Gardens – https://www.ardernegardens.org.za/