The Woodland Trust, supported by players of The People’s Postcode Lottery, is looking for your vote to appoint the Tree of the Year.

You have until Sunday, October 8, to vote for your favourite tree in Scotland.

And the list you can choose from is quite impressive.

It features the Beauly Sycamore, near Inverness; the Big Tree in Kirkwall, Orkney; the Carnegie Oak, in Dunfermline; David McCabe’s Spruce, in Crieff; the Greenock Cut Oak; and the Old Holly Bush, in Castle Fraser.

However, if you look towards the rear of Bridgewater Shopping Centre, you will see a rather splendid tree of our own – a Caledonian pine – right here in Erskine.

It is very rare – I would take a guess at over 100 years old – and is protected by law.

We really should be taking more care of it. Unfortunately, we can’t vote for it – but maybe we should nominate it for next year’s award?

The Caledonian pine is native to Scotland and is an iconic feature of the Scottish landscape but, in many areas, it is in decline, so we should thank our lucky stars we have one.

Most of us take this lovely tree for granted as we drive in and out of the rear car park of the Aldi store, where it can be seen as you turn right.

If you would like to vote for one of the nominated trees, visit the Woodlands Trust website.

The winner will benefit from a ‘Tree Care’ award of £1,000, with any runner-up that receives 1,000 separate votes or more, subject to the eligibility criteria, earning a £500 Tree Care award.

This cash can be used to arrange a health check from an arboriculturalist, provide educational materials or organise a community event in honour of the tree.

Scotland’s top tree will then compete with its counterparts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to represent the UK in the European Tree of the Year contest, organised by the Environmental Partnership Association.