Saving the giants: Gig Harbor to plant 50 redwood saplings this spring

The city of Gig Harbor is participating in an effort to save the giant redwoods by joining more than 20 other Puget Sound communities in planting saplings this spring.

These redwood trees, native to California, are starting to suffer from climate change and drought in their native state.

More than 300 saplings will be planted in the Puget Sound area this year, with Gig Harbor receiving 50 saplings that will be planted on Parks Appreciation Day in April, said Katrina Knutson, Parks Project administrator.

“There’s been a number of places where the city’s had to remove trees in the near past,” Knutson said, referring to trees removed because of rot and disease in Donkey Creek and Grandview Forest parks. “We were trying to think: ‘What are we going to plant?’ When the opportunity came up for these trees, knowing that they’re immune to a lot of the local fungi and tree issues, it was a good idea according to our arborist.”

The city was first contacted about the project by Philip Stielstra, a Seattle resident and “tree ambassador” for the city of Seattle.

The saplings were transported in early December from Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the old growth trees around the world, reforesting with the offspring of ancient trees and archive the genetics of these old trees.

The city of Seattle received the saplings, including the ones for Gig Harbor, and is storing them free of charge in its greenhouses until planting this spring.

The redwood saplings will be planted in Gig Harbor city parks along with signs identifying the trees and their importance.

Knutson said that the city plans to involve Gig Harbor citizens — including some local students — in the planting project of these saplings.

“Our arborist is still trying to figure out the exact location to plant these (saplings). We want to make sure that a couple of these are obvious (in the parks) so that people can see them,” Knutson said. “We want to honor this free donation to the city and bring some community support for the cause of moving the giants north.”

This story was originally published January 12, 2017 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Saving the giants: Gig Harbor to plant 50 redwood saplings this spring."