The value of the old trees of Pamplona
Historically, the tree has had a great symbolism in our environment, and today it has it. Based on this idea, in May they organized a talk in the Navarra capital under the title The cultural and historical value of the old trees of Pamplona. The rapporteur was Mikel Belasko, a member of Zuhaitz Zahar Lagunak. The group has been promoting the conservation and protection of the old trees of Navarra for years.
Like Gernika, Pamplona also has its tree
A Redwood is the oldest tree in Pamplona. “In itself, it’s not very old. It was placed in 1855 by a baztans. He brought it directly from California and planted it in the deputy garden,” Belasko explained in an interview in the Basque Country Irratia. At the time when the tree was planted, the beads of the branches were in red alive, so someone called the Redwood “the tree of Pamplona”, even if he compared it with the Tree of Gernika. The tree had, however, a little bit of bad luck. In fact, in 1933 he was struck by a lightning bolt that caused him great damage. This fact seems very common as another Redwood found in the Casco Viejo de Pamplona/Iruña was damaged by lightning about fifteen years ago. The City Council of Pamplona/Iruña has begun to put lightning about the risk posed by these tall trees. Today the Redwood is the oldest tree in Pamplona, Belasko says that historically he dominated the elm. However, almost everything had been lost because of the enormous graffiti that had spread throughout Europe. That is why in Pamplona there are hardly any old trees.
Friends of Old Trees
Zuhaitz Zahar Lagunak was established in Pamplona in 2005. The objective is to protect and study the old trees of Navarra and to analyze the biodiversity associated with them. “Witnesses of the past, each tree tells us a story, the story of the place where it took its roots, its people and its customs,” they say in the introductory text of the catalog of the association. This has been the main objective of the conference: to connect the old trees of the city with their history, customs, culture and way of life.
