La Peana sends out an SOS

IT will cost €80,000 to prop up Seron’s ancient holm oak, La Peana, to help it survive the winter.

The tree, which the Junta declared a Natural Monument in 2019, is 1,300 years old and each of its 19 branches requires propping up.

Speaking to a Cadena SER Levante interviewer, Manuel Perez Sola who is president of the Monumento Natural Encina la Peana association, explained that the props need to be made and installed by specialists.

Members of the association have launched a crowdfunding project but Perez Sola explained that they are working against the clock.

“For a tree like this, and bearing in mind the weight of its branches, the wind, rain or a heavy snowfall will affect it more than usual,” he said.

“Part of the trunk of a very old holm oak is usually hollow which will also make La Peana especially vulnerable to a harsh winter,” Perez Sola pointed out.

“We are knocking on the doors of all those people who are most likely to want to help us, because we need to make at least a start before winter comes and before it snows, which would put La Peana in particular danger.”

More information about the La Peana crowdfunding campaign is available on the goteo.org website.