Girl Scout Troop 70210 Discover Rare Dawn Redwood

Inspired by the Melrose Tree Project’s “Big Tree Hunt”, Troop 70210 went out for a tree hunting adventure on the Common Park. Inspired by the tree’s shape, and the color of the bark they decided to record its height as 57.5 feet with a circumference of 7’ 11”.

The species turns out to be a Dawn Redwood. This is a species of tree that up to 1941 was thought to be extinct until a grove of them was found in China. Since then they have been cultivated in the US at the Arnold Arboretum. There are four others that have been identified here in Melrose.

If you’re inspired by what you see, log what you have identified or form a team and go on a “Big Tree Hunt” adventure together. Submissions for the Spring Big tree hunt close by end of Day June 2nd.