A health check for the Major Oak - July 2024

The Major Oak is a 1,100-year old oak tree in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, UK. Reputedly the hiding place of Robin Hood and his Merry Band, the tree is one the country's largest and oldest oak trees.
Each summer, arborists and tree health experts work with staff from the RSPB, which manages the Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve, to take foliar samples from the leaves high up in the Major Oak's canopy. This year, they were joined by soil health experts and researchers from Cambridge University, who are sequencing the tree's DNA to determine, among other things, why this tree has lived for so long.
The video was filmed and edited in July 2024 by Laura Turner, founder of ethical video production specialists Fuzzfox, and funded by the Miner 2 Major Landscape Partnership Scheme, support by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.