The Giant Redwoods are so magical due to their impressive age. They were planted in the Victorian era as a way to impress guests and family who came to visit an estate. The Giant Redwood can live up to 3,000 years old and have graced the planet for more than 240 million years!
The bark of the Giant Redwood is just under a foot thick. This helps to protect the tree in their native origin of central California, where they have many forest fires. The bark is also very fibrous, which protects the tree from fire. The heat from the fire rises up into the canopy where it comes into contact with the cone, which is one of the smallest cones from one of the largest conifer trees! This cone, when dried out from the heat of the fire, will open up exposing the seed, which is the size of a pinhead. The roots of the Giant Redwood are very shallow rooted, about 5-6ft, but can extend out to 100ft from the trunk.
One of the Giant Redwoods at Longleat is the tallest in the UK, measuring an impressive 58 metres. That is the equivalent in height to 13 double-decker buses standing on top of each other! This tree is around 170 years old.
We have many guests visiting the Giant Redwood trees and getting some fantastic photos, from the morning sun emerging through the mist and the canopy, to when the trees are all covered in snow. They are amazed at how tall they are, as they walk around the boardwalk, reaching out to touch and feeling the soft, spongy bark
I really enjoy the variety of work that I do, ranging from managing the forest and Rangers to working in all kinds of weather. This could be from severe weather in the winter to the spring and summer months when I get to see the forest start to come alive. The new leaves start to appear on the trees, and the daffodils and bluebells push their way up through the forest floor. And, of course, I’m constantly amazed by the incredible Giant Redwoods.
Discover the beauty of the forest with our Nature Detectives activity.
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