This first Tree of the Year was selected by Sigurður Blöndal, former head of the Icelandic Forestry Service and is a birch tree, standing in the outskirts of Vaglaskógur, near one of the main forest roads. At the time the tree was described as being tall for birch trees in Iceland, around 10 m in height and forming a single trunk up to about 3 m height, much broader than most birches. The bark was white and smooth, and the canopy is large, splitting into five main branches forming a larger canopy than most birch trees found in Iceland.
