News and Events

April 15 2025

A lunchtime walk to look at the Flowering Cherries was attended by 30 people. The forecast rain did not materialise!

April 2 2025

Japanese Ambassador visits the Cherry Collection

The Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki came to Keele to bestow his Award of Commendation on our National Collection of Flowering Cherries. He is seen here with L/R Graham Lees, Dave Emley and Chris Sanders, three of the founders of the collection. Peter Thomas, the fourth,  was unable to attend in person but did so via video. The Ambassador's Commendation is an award given to recognise individuals or groups who have helped to strengthen ties between Japan and other countries. The timing is not regular and it is awarded as appropriate. There have been only 9 such awards since 2021.

January 9 2025

Arboretum tree gets Notable status on the Ancient Tree Inventory

It’s already got its own road named after it, is number #1 on the campus part of the arboretum walk leaflet and now our beautiful Oak Tree has been recognised by the Ancient Tree Inventory.

The Ancient Tree Inventory is a database of trees of special interest based on their size, age, ancient characteristics, landscape significance, etc., that is run by the Woodland Trust. The survey involves recording the girth of the tree at 1.5m and noting ancient characteristics such as the presence of deadwood, plants living on the bark, fungi and signs of wildlife such as a woodpecker holes. Volunteers submit records which are verified by trained assessors.

Dr Sarah L. Taylor and a group of students (Victor Reynolds, Freya Barber and Charlotte Harper) on the MSc Biodiversity and Conservation surveyed the tree in autumn 2024 as part of a biodiversity skills training module. The oak has a girth of 3.8m and its lower boughs which reach almost to the ground host a variety of lichens. It was verified by the ATI as “Notable”. Notable trees are mature trees that stand out in their environment and our Oak Tree certainly does that. Notable trees do not have any obvious veteran characteristics, but these will come with time! For more details check out the ATI record link.

November 20 2024

Our nationally renowned collection of flowering cherry trees has reached a milestone with the planting of the 300th tree. It was planted as part of the University’s 75th anniversary celebrations in a ceremony attended by the Embassy of Japan in the UK, and former Foreign Office diplomat and two-time Olympian Mara Yamauchi.

We have one of the largest collections of flowering cherry trees in the UK and Europe with around 230 different varieties, including some that can’t be found in Japan. It has previously been awarded National Plant Collection status by Plant Heritage, the world’s leading plant conversation and research charity. 

Kayo Iwakami, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in the UK, said: "It's a great pleasure to participate in this memorial ceremony, celebrating both the 75th anniversary of Keele University and the planting of the 300th flowering cherry tree. 

The latest tree to join the collection, named Prunus nipponica, also called Japanese Alpine Cherry, was planted in the University’s Memorial Garden. As part of the event, Mara Yamauchi, a former elite marathon runner who competed in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and came runner-up in the 2009 London Marathon, gave a public lecture on her life and career for the latest instalment in the Professor Fumiko Yonezawa Memorial Lecture Series. 

Toshihiko Kitagawa, a lecturer in Japanese at Keele who helped to organise the planting ceremony, said: “It was fantastic to bring representatives from the Embassy of Japan in the UK to Keele for this milestone occasion. This is actually the second time in two years that we’ve had someone from the embassy come to Keele to help plant a cherry tree, and from speaking with them, I know they really appreciate the collection that we have here at the University. 

“Keele has proudly been welcoming Japanese students to study here for many years and we hope this tree planting is a symbol of our ongoing friendship and study links with Japan."

April 21 2023

Photo courtesy Press Office

Officials from the Japanese Embassy have planted a cherry tree  – adding to the campus’s nationally-renowned collection of flowering cherries.

Minister Yasuyuki Okazaki, and Third Secretary Yui Morimoto, planted the tree, known as Prunus ‘Fragrant Cloud’ due to its scent, in the University’s Memorial Garden during a visit to Keele, which included meetings with staff and students.

The visit was arranged after embassy officials learned about our collection during a presentation by Keele students at a prestigious Japanese speech competition.

March 9 2023

We are pleased to report that Ariana Fazakas and Tobi Ewuosho gave an excellent presentation on the Keele Cherry Collection at the 18th Japanese Speech Contest for University Students. It is the very first time for Keele students to be selected as the finalists in the Speech Contest's history for 18 years, and they were the only non-Russell group students in the contest!

February 14 2023

14 new flowering cherries were added to the National Collection and planted in the Memorial Garden.