How Old Are Our Trees?

We measured some trees in our front yard today to figure out their age. I got the idea from my current favorite nature activity guide, The Kids' Guide to Nature Adventures: 80 Great Activities for Exploring the Outdoors by Joe Rhatigan. (Oh, and don't bother trying to buy one, like I did. It's out of print and copies are currently going for $150+...yep...one hundred and fifty plus dollars. Needless to say, my library copy is woefully overdue.)

Here's the activity:
Knowing that the most accurate way to figure out a tree's age is to cut it down and count the "rings" of growth, we opt for second best, which is measure the circumference of the trunk:

This very large oak measured in at about 111 inches, and that wasn't at the very base of the trunk. That makes it between 111-130 years of age, approximately.

Next, the largest beech:

 

It was 91 inches. This time we measured lower on the trunk where it's wider.

Next, a smaller beech:

 

It was 74 inches in circumference.

Last, the dogwood:

 

A mere 19 inches, or 19 years for the dogwood.

So this is what we have:

Oak = pushing 130 years

Beech = about 91 years

Beech = 74 years

Dogwood = 19 years

And last but not least, the three-year-old wants to be measured, but not around the "trunk":

About 38 inches in length.

Comments

[Deb]

Oh, fun!