A 38-year-old woman has recently celebrated her first anniversary with a tree at Rimrose Valley Country Park in the United Kingdom.
Kate Cunningham, a mother of two, from Sefton, Merseyside, UK has changed her surname to Elder after she married the elder tree in September last year. She has exchanged wedding vows at the country park reportedly to bring attention to the destruction of green spaces in their area.
For their paper wedding anniversary, Kate Cunningham left her boyfriend and two kids at home to visit the elder tree. Together with friends, she "went over to the tree and said hello for a small celebration."
A Statement For Green Spaces
In a 2019 report from the British newspaper Daily Mail, Kate Cunningham explained: "At first it was just an idea. Then we decided that we were going to make it happen." It started out as an attempt to stop the local government from building a bypass road that will pass through Rimrose Valley. The bypass road, originally proposed by state-owned Highways England, was supposed to be a three-mile-long two-lane road that will supposedly reduce traffic going to the Port of Liverpool.
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She also shared that she was inspired by female activists in Mexico who married trees in an attempt to halt illegal logging and massive land clearing, arranging a similar ceremony in the hopes of saving Rimrose Valley Park. Cunningham even added that her boyfriend was supportive of the move and even helped make props for the wedding.
The former primary school behavior support assistant and environmental activist admitted that she visits the elder tree for up to five times a week, in a report from Mirror Online.
"I think getting married was one of the best decisions I have ever made," Kate Cunningham said, adding that she knew the elder tree was "the one." She has been regularly seen by locals climbing the tree's branches.
An Intense Tree-votion
Kate Cunningham's marriage to the Rimrose Valley elder tree might be a case of dendrophilia, which literally means "love of trees." Also known as arborphilia, dendrophilia presents itself in a variety of ways, but will most often revolve around loving trees as others would to a partner. In some cases, as with Cunningham's, it appears to be a sincere reverence towards trees - a display of respect or wish to protect and care for them.
I'm hopelessly 'treevoted' to protecting and preserving our #greenlung #saverimrosevalley The Elder is looking well groomed in this one!...x... pic.twitter.com/LlYqm50lhg — Kate Rose Elder Fuller (@KateRoseElder1) October 1, 2019
Meanwhile, the term has also been used by sexologists to refer to people who have a paraphilic interest in trees. Some cases of dendrophilia manifest in experiencing a sexual attraction towards trees.
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Back in 2010, a man was banned for life from a public park after allegedly dropping his pants and attempting to have intercourse with a tree. William Shaw, a 21-year-old man, has been ordered never to enter the Central Park in Airdrie, Scotland
Healthcare and medicine website Healthline notes that there appear to be no published research studies or case reports on the condition. They also noted that anecdotal reports on dendrophilia are "few and far between."
Check out more news and information on Dendrophilia in Science Times.
