UK pubcaster Channel 4 has commissioned Tree of the Year 2016, an hour-long documentary to be hosted by Irish comedian and actor Ardal O’Hanlon (pictured).

Produced by STV Productions in conjunction with the Woodland Trust – the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity – the film is scheduled to reveal the winners of 2016′s Tree of the Year competition, including four national winners across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales as chosen by a public online poll. In addition, an expert panel will select the overall winner of UK Tree of the Year.

The shortlist of the nation’s best 28 trees was selected by some of the UK’s leading botanists, historians and photographers.

O’Hanlon will journey across the UK to unearth the uniqueness of each nominated tree, while also profiling stories from the trees’ nominees, scientists, historians and an expert tree hunter on why each tree is important to its surrounding landscape and community.

The Woodland Trust has recorded more than 150,000 special tree locations in the UK into its Ancient Tree Inventory since 2006.

STV’s Peter Collins serves as executive producer on the 60-minute film, which was commissioned by Lizi Wootton, C4′s commissioning editor for features.