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