Oxford - University Parks (Oxfordshire)

Giant Redwoods on West Walk
Oxford University Parks has a varied range of trees spaced around large and well-manicured grassed fields. The main interest to us, however, is the eight Giant Redwoods. Seven can be found on the West Walk, six of which were planted in about 1888 and one in 1972. It is worth noting that these are not particulary large examples for their age, and this demonstrates how difficult it can be to determine the age of a tree by its size. The rate of growth of a tree is dependant on the conditions in which it was planted, and these examples have been in fairly poor soil; this is explained on the Oxford University Parks website: "The soil over most of the area is thin and overlies river gravel. This has had a great effect on the size of many of the trees, which, particularly in the open areas to the west, do not appear to have attained their full potential. This is apparent in the group of Wellingtonias..." Nevertheless, they are a nice group of trees in a beautiful setting, and are perfect for students to laze under and revise in the shade on a hot July day. As lovely as these trees are, one can clearly see the difference that more suitable conditions can make to their growth by comparing the young Giant Redwood on the South Walk, where there is obviously a better supply of moisture in the summer. This stunningly healthy specimen has the full lush growth that one would expect from these magnificent trees when conditions are ideal.

Common Names and Latin Name	No.	Label	Latitude and Longitude		OS National Grid	Elevation (above sea-level)	Height	Girth	Date Measured
			WGS84	OSGB36
Giant Redwood, Wellingtonia Sequoiadendron giganteum	1	01911	N51.76150 W1.25897	N51.76104 W1.25748	SP 51240 07239	198ft (60.4m)	21.2m	3.57m	July 2006 West Walk
	2		N51.76166 W1.25883	N51.76120 W1.25734	SP 51249 07257	235ft (71.7m)	19m	3.15m	July 2006 West Walk
	3	01906	N51.76175 W1.25911	N51.76129 W1.25762	SP 51230 07267	168ft (51.2m)	22.3m	3.48m	July 2006 West Walk
	4	01905	N51.76189 W1.25890	N51.76143 W1.25741	SP 51244 07283	199ft (60.7m)	21.2m	3.1m	July 2006 West Walk
	5		N51.76192 W1.25855	N51.76146 W1.25706	SP 51268 07286	222ft (67.7m)	20.8m	3.06m	July 2006 West Walk
	6	01908	N51.76174 W1.25863	N51.76128 W1.25714	SP 51263 07266	222ft (67.7m)	25.2m	3.68m	July 2006 West Walk
	7	01907	N51.76175 W1.25886	N51.76129 W1.25737	SP 51247 07267	210ft (64m)	9.6m	0.89m	July 2006 West Walk
	8		N51.76056 W1.25207	N51.76010 W1.25058	SP 51717 07140	216ft (65.9m)	17.3m		July 2006 South Walk
Girth was measured at 1.5 metres from ground