On the eve of the summer solstice, on 18 June, we visited and honoured the Mēri great oak at Mēri Manor in Bilska parish.

Ieva Miķe, head of the Smiltene Local History Museum, gave a short account of the great oak; Māris Liopa, chairman of the Forest Certification Council of Latvia, the association that organises the European Tree of the Year competition in Latvia, confirmed the Tree of the Year title awarded to the oak; Andris Lapiņš, executive director of Smiltene municipality, spoke about the oak's significance in the region; and the folklore group Rudzupuķe dedicated songs to the oak and to all those present.

The Mēri great oak was entered in the competition by the Smiltene Local History Museum; the competition is organised in Latvia by the Forest Certification Council of Latvia and the Latvian Forest Owners' Association