This Old Tree

Kongeegen, or the 1,500 year old “King’s Oak,” is deep inside a forest called Jægerspris Nordskov in Denmark. The tree is named after 19th century King Frederik VII, who owned a nearby castle with his wife, the Countess Danner. It is a national treasure and one of northern Europe’s oldest living oak trees.  
Getting there meant a two-mile hike through the woods with guests Anders Jensen of the Danish Tree Association and forest historian Helle Serup of The Green Museum. They tell the biological story of Kongeegen, and how Denmark sees its forests. 
But there is also a love story - a tangled affair between the unconventional Frederik, the Countess Danner (aka Louise Rasmussen), and a wealthy newspaper publisher named Carl Berling. The Countess's own love letters embellish this true story from her point of view - scandal, romance, and all  - and how it led them to seek shelter from the rain under this ancient oak.
Guests
Helle Serup
Curator, Det Grønne Museum (The Green Museum)
Auning, Denmark
Anders Jensen
Vice Chairman
Dansk Træplejeforening (The Danish Tree Care Association)
Reading
"Beneath Kongeegen" by Doug Still and Ida Zecco, read by Ida Zecco and Martha Douglas-Osmundson (Louise Rasmussen's letters)
References
"Din hengivnes Louise": Louise Rasmussens breve til Carl Berling og kronprins/kong Frederik VII, 1844-1850." Ved Pernille Arenfeldt og Pernille Hasselsteen. Kong Frederik VII's Stiftelse Paa Jægerspris, Forlaget Fremad, 
Music
"La Sylphide, Music for the Bournonville ballet" by Herman Severin Løvenskiold. Royal Danish Orchestra, Chandos Records, 1991.
Special thanks
Dansk Træplejeforening
Robb Barnard
Ed Nardell
Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram
This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
doug@thisoldtree.net

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

Sa Melabrina is a Downy Oak tree the size of a small church, draped in moss and ferns. Her ancient arms spread wide in the surrounding forest near Illorai, Sardinia. She's the oldest and largest of her kind in all of Europe. And she's been standing here in these mountains for nine centuries.
What she symbolizes is even greater than her beauty.
The town’s mayor organized a remarkable conference drawing scientists, conservationists, and community leaders from across Sardinia and beyond, all united around a single idea: that Sardinia's ancient trees, its oldest living landmarks, could form a network worth protecting, visiting, and fighting for.
There is something else at stake. Sardinia's small towns are quietly shrinking. Depopulation is hollowing out villages that have survived for millennia. Saving these old trees is vital, but Sardinia's leaders ask a new type of question:
Can Sa Melabrina and Sardinia’s monumental trees save its small towns?
Guests
Gianluca Grande, Mayor
Illorai, Sardinia
Dr. Gianluigi Bacchetta
Professor, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences
Director, Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity and Germplasm Bank of Sardinia
University of Cagliari, Sardinia
Pina Muras
Resident of Illorai, Sardinia

Carlo Poddi
Arborist, Sassari, Sardinia
Readings
"Su chercu pius bellu" (The Most Beautiful Oak) by Ignazio Camarda - read by Fulgenzio Piras
"The Sa Melabrina Oak" by Graziano Nudda
Quote by T.S. Eliot from "The Little Gidding"
Voiceover Readers
Manuela Buonanno (Pina Muras)
Jeff Taliaferro (Graziano Nudda reading)
Music
Sa Melabrina Choir
Conference hospitality provided by Proloco
Oak Species of Sardinia - Quercus pubescens group
Quercus dalechampii (Downy Oak)
Quercus ichnusae
Quercus congesta
Quercus virgiliana
Other Oak species in Sardinia
Quercus ilex (Holm Oak)
Quercus suber (Cork Oak)
Quercus calliprinos
Quercus morisi
Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram
This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
doug@thisoldtree.net

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

In the small Estonian town of Orissaare, football players dribble around a 150-year-old oak tree standing impossibly in the middle of their soccer field or "stadium." What seems like a quirky local oddity became a symbol of national pride when this tree won the 2015 European Tree of the Year, beating much larger countries like Hungary, Spain, and the UK.

How did an unknown Estonian oak outcompete all of Europe? The answer involves brilliant PR, ancient folklore, a fierce independence forged by centuries of foreign invasion, and a profound connection to forests rooted in animism. Could a tree resist the Soviets? Learn about its inspiring legend that captured the attention of tree-lovers around the world.
Guests
Aliide Naylor
Journalist and Author
London, UK
The Shadow in the East: Vladimir Putin and the New Baltic Front
aliidenaylor.com
Heiki Hanso
Arborist
Orissaare, Estonia
Andla Rüütel
Manager, Orissaare Sports Hall
Orissaare, Estonia
Voiceover Reading for Andla Rüütel
Martha Douglas-Osmundson
LinkedIn Profile
Songs (in order)
"Saaremaa valss," Georg Ots
"Ma vaatan paadist kiikriga," Boris Lehtlaan
"Metsavendade laul (sõnadega) - Forest Brothers' Song," Untsakad
"Isegi unes," Stig Rästa (permission from FAAR Music)
Other References
"The Favours of the Sacred Tree," Estonian Folk Tales: the Heavenly Wedding,
Piret Paar and Anne Turnpu, authors, 2005.
Silence of the Gods: The Untold History of Europe's Last Pagan Peoples, Francis Young, 2025.
European Tree of the Year, Environmental Partnership Association
Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram
This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
doug@thisoldtree.net

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

What happens when six arborists come down from the trees to step behind the mic? Find out by listening to this special episode of stories by tree professionals told LIVE in front of an audience at the annual conference of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. 

Where does the adrenaline come from? What barriers have been climbed? What drives them, ropes and harness in hand? Hear what arborists say about defining moments in their careers, their struggles, and what they love about their profession.
Guests
Heidi Shingleton
Arborist
Dirigo Tree Service
Freeport, ME
David Anderson
Arborist
Mayer Tree Service
Essex, MA
June Moulis
Student, Urban Forestry and Arboriculture Concentration
UMASS Amherst
Tom Marino
Certified Arborist
SavATree
Norwalk, CT
Lindsay Watkins
Strafford County Forester
UNH Cooperative Extension
Durham, NH
Rich Cartier
Northeast Territory Manager
Rainbow Ecoscience
Milford, MA
Stories told on location at "The Canopy Connection: 2025 New England Chapter ISA Annual Conference and Trade Show," Southbridge, MA, October 7, 2025. 
Music
"Not Long Now," Falconer
Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram
This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
doug@thisoldtree.net

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org

High up in California's Sierra Nevada mountains stands the largest tree on earth by volume - the General Sherman Tree. The famous giant sequoia has captivated millions of visitors, but few know the rich tapestry of stories woven around its massive trunk.
Join us as we explore the “Giant Forest” of Sequoia National Park with former park ranger and author William C. Tweed. From the indigenous Monache and Yokuts who first walked among these giants, to ambitious Euro-American explorers like John Muir, to a Black Army Captain who became the parks first true manager, discover how "first encounters" with giant sequoias become life altering events. 
What evolutionary secrets allow sequoias to get so big? Why do frequent fires help them to survive? And what is "sequoia time?" The General Sherman tree and its mates have changed how we view the natural world and our place within it.
Guest
William C. Tweed
Author and Retired Chief Naturalist
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, CA
King Sequoia
Challenge of the Big Trees: The History of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (co-author with Lary M. Dilsaver)
Readers
Josh Abrams (Hale Tharp)
Ewen Eadie (John Muir)
Jeff Taliaferro (Capt. Charles Young)
Music
Justin Peters
Tree Visitor Interview
Tom Allen
Emmy Riley
Alex Allen
Organizations That Support Giant Sequoias
National Park Service, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Giant Sequoias Land Coalition
Sequoia Parks Conservancy
Save the Redwoods League
Ancient Forest Society
Tule River Tribe of California
Theme Music
"This Old Tree," Diccon Lee, www.deeleetree.com

Artwork
Dahn Hiuni, www.dahnhiuni.com/home

Website
thisoldtree.show
Transcripts available.

Follow on
Facebook or Instagram
This Old Tree podcast is a sponsored project of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. To support This Old Tree and New England ISA, click here.

We want to hear about the favorite tree in your life! To submit a ~4 or 5 minute  audio story for consideration for an upcoming episode of "Tree Story Shorts" on This Old Tree, record the story on your phone’s voice memo app and email to:
doug@thisoldtree.net

This episode was written in part at LitArts RI, a community organization and co-working space that supports Rhode Island's creators.
litartsri.org