WITH THIS RING, I TREE WED
Green campaigner ‘marries’ 25ft elder in protest at plans to build a bypass through park
THE bride wore a £10 olive green dress, wild flowers in her hair and animated smile.
Towering over her, the groom swayed a bit, looking brown and rather wooden.
But then eco-warrior Kate Cunningham was marrying a tree. The 34-year-old mother of two staged the wedding, to an endangered elder, as part of a protest at plans to build a bypass through her local park.
Among dozens of guests gathered for the ceremony in Rimrose Valley Country Park, Merseyside, were her sons, aged 11 and 14 – and her boyfriend.
Miss Cunningham, who has changed her name to Kate Elder, made some vows and placed a decorated giant willow ring on the tree, which she has not given a name. Saturday’s wedding, which included readings and poetry, was conducted by Davy Edge, a local actor.
He asked the bride: ‘ Do you promise to cherish this elder tree? Do you promise to preserve and protect it as long as you both shall live?’
There were cheers from the crowd as she answered ‘I do’. Mr Edge responded: ‘I now pronounce you Kate Rose Elder.’
The park, part of a nature reserve, is threatened by Highways England’s plans for a £250million link road serving the port of Liverpool and its new container terminal.
‘It cuts right through the centre of the park,’ Mrs Elder said. ‘It’ll destroy it. The park is so valuable. It contains every species of tree you could imagine. In the nature reserve, there are butterflies laying their eggs, a rare type of orchid, kestrels, owls, bats, foxes and water voles.’
Rather than dig a tunnel or chain herself to a bulldozer, she chose her novel protest after being inspired by women activists in Mexico who held similar wedding ceremonies to raise awareness about illegal logging and land clearing.
‘I want people to engage with the campaign and raise questions about the destruction of our green space,’ she said. ‘There are plenty of local people who aren’t even aware of what is happening. This is particularly close to my heart. My mum died of an asthma attack and I suffer from a lung condition.
‘Plans to bulldoze this beautiful place for yet another busy road make no sense and are an attack on our health. There is already too much pollution.’
She was drawn to the 25ft elder because of its distinctive looks and its location next to a wildflower meadow. ‘It’s quite a short tree and of an unusual shape with the branches going outwards,’ she said. ‘ The meadow is in bloom and looks absolutely beautiful.’
Mrs Elder, who held a hen party on Friday night, said her wedding outfit cost only £19 from charity shops.
‘The fabric for my dress was £10, while the skirt was created from an old scruffy dress. The pumps I wore were £6,’ she said.