A mum who married a tree as a form of protest said the marriage is still going strong three years on.
Kate Cunningham, from Melling, changed her surname to Elder when she and the tree tied the knot in 2019 and she said the pair are more loved-up than ever this festive season.
The 37-year-old, who works as a carer for her autistic son and does environmental work, said she visits the tree up to five times a week and has even decorated it for Christmas, with a wreath, tinsel and baubles.
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Kate said she will spend Boxing Day with her bark-covered other half - leaving the rest of her family at home.
The mum married the tree as part of a winder campaign to save Rimrose Valley Country Park from being transformed into a bypass by National Highways.
Kate said the tree completes her and her love has only grown since their wedding in Rimrose Valley Country Park in September 2019.
She described the tree as part of her family now and said their union changed her life for the better and even signs her Christmas cards as ‘With Winter Wishes, from Mr and Mrs Elder’.
Kate said: “It’s our third Christmas together now so it almost feels like tradition to get the decorations out for it.
“When I was putting them up, the tree was as attractive to me as ever in the bright December sun.
“I made the wreath from holly, ivy, pine and red winter berries which I foraged from a walk over the weekend.
“Plus I added a little spray of festive glitter.”
Kate claims she immediately knew the elder tree was "the one" due to its earthly energy drawing her towards it.
When visiting Rimrose Valley Country Park to find the tree she would wed, her attraction to the elder was instantaneous.
The tree-loving mum has always felt connected to nature, but bonded with the elder tree on a much deeper level than anything else in the park.
She was attracted to its light bark colour and big size, saying it stood out from the darker oak trees in the park.
Kate added: “People still ask questions and are still unsure of my motivations behind the wedding.
“I get asked, ‘has being married changed your life for the better?’ Yes it has.
“‘Do you love the tree?’ Yes I do.”
Kate's family and friends fully support her marriage as they know she has always felt deeply connected to the earth.
For Kate, she said trees are like people - they have energy and the capacity to form bonds with things around them.
But her union with the shrub can’t be said to be entirely monogamous - as Kate has a boyfriend that has been with her every step of the way.
He supports her choice and even joins Kate on some of her visits, unfazed by their kissing and cuddling.
She still wears her wedding ring proudly, which was a birthday present from her Grandad a few years ago.
The marriage has given Kate a new lease of confidence which she channels into climate activism.
The marriage was part of a winder campaign to save Rimrose Valley Country Park from being transformed into a bypass by National Highways.
Local residents campaigned to halt the new three-mile bypass, thought to ease traffic congestion, through Rimrose Valley and into the Port of Liverpool.
They argued that the dual carriageway would wipe out a large plot of green space and only redirect pollution to an eco hub.
Kate said that she likes people asking questions because it gives her a chance to share her marital joy, as well as raise awareness of Rimrose Valley Country Park.
She said she was inspired by Mexican women who married trees several years ago to highlight illegal logging and land clearance there.
