EVENTS: PICK OF THE WEEK

National Tree Week Wed to 5 Dec Various venues

Recent visitors to any leafy place, be it Kew Gardens or a local common, will have noticed that some magnificent trees around the country are currently dressed in the last golden colours of autumn. It's the perfect time of year, then, for National Tree Week in which the public are encouraged to take a more pro-active approach to maintaining the nation's woody heritage.

Among the nationwide events planned are countryside walks, and tree-planting sessions where the focus will be on "long stayers" such as ash, oak and the astonishing yew tree - oaks live for up to 600 years, but a yew planted next month could still be around in the year 4,000. Which surely makes planting one worth five minutes of anyone's time.

For details of your nearest event, call 0171-828 9928 or visit the Tree Council website (www.treecouncil.org.uk), Wed to 5 December

Peter Conchie