An ancient olive tree is poised to undergo an incredible journey from the sleepy village of Mouriscas, in Abrantes (central Ribatejo region) to the London Borough of Lambeth.
The idea is part of the Rota das Oliveiras Milenares de Mouriscas, a project designed to boost the notoriety of Mouriscas for its beautiful millenial trees – the oldest being 3,350 years old.
The reason Lambeth is keen to import one has a lot to do with the fact that councillor Guilherme Rosa is Portuguese, and represents the 35,000-50,000 fellow nationals resident in the urban south London community.
Rosa’s plan has been cleverly designed to commemorate the Treaty of Windsor, the ancient alliance between Britain and Portugal – signed centuries ago in 1373.
The “Tree of the Alliance”, as Lambeth’s new arboreal feature will be called, is to be sited in one of Lambeth’s public squares and is likely to be at least 2,000 years old.
The group in Mouriscas is very keen to see the project move forwards, as it says it will boost the village’s notoriety, as well as fly yet another flag for the area’s ancient olive trees.
A study to work out the minutiae of this kind of transplant operation is now underway, reports O Mirante website.
