The Green Lady of Krka National Park is a finalist in the European competition. Every vote counts!

The mulberry tree of Krka National currently has 1683 votes and is in 11^th place in the 2024 European Tree of the Year competition

The interim rankings were published on the competition website, and you can still vote for the mulberry tree at Skradinski buk until 22 February when the voting closes. The newest interim rankings will be released on 15 February. Can we come together to improve the rankings of our beautiful mulberry tree by then?

The international Tree of the Year contest emphasises the importance of old trees in the natural and cultural heritage. Unlike other competitions, it aims to reveal and promote those trees that have been deeply rooted in the life and work of people, and whose story testifies to the past and coexistence with humans.

This is exactly what the film made for the purpose of registration in this contest tells, in words and images. The link to the film can be found in the description of our mulberry tree from Skradinski buk, under lucky number 7, as an extension of the story of the Green Lady of Krka National Park.

This 3-minute film directed by Tomislav Krnić and produced by Digital Media Studia 24/7 tells the story of this 400-year-old white mulberry tree, standing on the right bank of the river, near the ruins of the Budim mill.

In the film, scenes of Skradinski buk are intertwined with scenes of putting up a crocheted scarf around the mulberry tree, to properly mark the tree as Croatia’s candidate in the European Tree of the Year competition. The scarf was crocheted by the talented women working at the Public Institute of Krka National Park, with many creative citizens joining in. Crocheting is a somewhat forgotten skill, but so valuable as it teaches us patience and trains our precision. It is the thread that joins the past and the present of this area, just like the mulberry tree of Krka National Park.

All this makes the mulberry tree the perfect candidate for Europe’s Tree of the Year, a competition not based only on the beauty, size or age of a candidate tree, but on the story behind it, and its connections with the local population. Such competitions stimulate the local community and the general public to get involved in protecting and conserving natural values and biodiversity. Thanks to this type of competition, trees are promoted as a part of the natural environment that is exceptionally important for humans and for the general survival of mankind.