Brinsbury College honoured to collaborate with Sycamore Gap tree project to help share legacy across UK

A sapling grown from the famous Sycamore Gap tree has been planted at Brinsbury College as part of the National Trust’s Trees of Hope initiative.   

It is one of 49 saplings given by the Trust to individuals, communities and organisations across the UK  from nearly 500 applications.

The aim is to create a legacy for the Sycamore Gap tree which stood next to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland for more than 120 years before it was illegally felled in September 2023. 

The tree featured in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman.

The sapling was planted in the garden at Brinsbury Manor House by some of the Level 2 Horticulture Students at the college on November 25 with senior team leaders in attendance.

A plaque from the Trust reads: ‘A tree of hope grown from the felled Sycamore Gap tree.

‘Gifted by the National Trust and planted as an act of hope with communities across the UK’

The plaque also carries a QR code and website address where more information can be found out about the Trees of Hope project and Sycamore Gap.

College Principal, Christine Bianchin, said: “The planting of the sapling here in our grounds is an honour for us and we are very proud to be one of the recipients.

“Our students have done a great job planting the sapling so it can thrive in our garden here.

“All our staff and students will be able to watch it grow, proud in the knowledge that we have played a part in sharing the legacy of such a famous and iconic tree.

“It now forms part of our arboretum and our historic estate planted next to Brinsbury Manor House.”

The Trees of Hope initiative was launched by the National Trust in September 2024, one year after the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree.

The 49 saplings represents each foot in height that the tree was at the time of felling.

Now between four and six feet tall, the saplings were grown from seeds rescued from the felled tree and have been carefully nurtured at the National Trust’s Plant Conservation Centre.  

All the saplings will be planted in publicly accessible spaces in locations across the UK, 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: “It’s incredible to think that the first “offspring” of this very famous tree are now being planted – it feels like just yesterday that those tentative first shoots appeared.

“Over the next couple of years, the saplings will really start to take shape, and because sycamores are so hardy, we’re confident they’ll be able to withstand a range of conditions.   

“To be able to keep the story of the Sycamore Gap alive in all four corners of the UK and in so many different settings is a fitting tribute.

“And we hope that, just like the original tree, these young saplings will touch many people’s lives.”   

For more information about the Trees of Hope, please visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/saplings   .

For more information about horticultural courses at Brinsbury College please click here.