This is our first ever project located in Wales.  This is also our first ever Sequoia Carbon Code project.  This new standard represents an exciting development for the UK carbon market.

​

Giant Sequoia trees, also known as Giant Redwoods, are the largest living species on earth.  They are also some of the longest living with trees at 3500 years.  There are many trees alive today that existed in the time of Christ.  They may reach as much as 36 feet across, 250 feet tall and 1400 cubic meters in volume each!

​

Sequoias are native to northern California and Oregon in the United States.  They are under threat at home due to a warming climate bringing drought, super-heated wildfires, disease and bark beetle.  In recent years, they have lost as much as 10% of their number per year.  The problem is so severe that they are on the IUCN’s endangered species Red List.

​

As climate refugees, the species is being saved through assisted migration to the UK.  The overall aim of the wider initiative is to plant 100,000 Giant Redwoods to comprise The Giant Reserve across multiple locations.  This will replicate the circa 75,000 old-growth Sequoias that are still alive in the USA.  Thus, we will be implementing a concerted plan for their conservation in the event that Climate Change continues to escalate in their native California and Oregon.

​

The UK is a proven safe haven for this species.  The trees have been planted here on large estates since the 1850s by Victorian seed collectors.  In England, they have been traditionally known as Wellingtonia trees.

​

The trees are thriving in our climate.  There are no crowning wildfires here in the UK.  We have the right kind of temperate climate, sufficient rain and appropriate soil for them.  They are non-invasive, so will not threaten local forests in any way.

​

1540 Giant Sequoias are being planted at the Abergavenny site on land that was previously planted for commercial timber harvesting.  For each Sequoia that is planted, three native broadleaf trees will be planted in addition to a nursery crop of conifers including Scots pine. 

​

At home, these trees provide habitat for a vast array of wildlife, such as Red squirrels, raptors, songbirds, owls and mammals.  The land at Abergavenny has been purchased for this purpose and the trees will never be cut.  Thus, these new woodlands represent a permanent haven for UK wildlife.

​

The project offers an exceptional opportunity to bring company volunteers to take part in tree planting and educational programmes.  The framework itself is FSC recognised and audited by the Soil Association.  The project is registered with Treeonomy.  Growth is assessed by drone and satellite technology with LIDAR.  Each tree is assigned specific GPS coordinate and monitored separately.