Tree Champions: Olympic veteran

From 6 - 8 June, Westonbirt's learning and participation team will be hosting the Tree Champions family event. The event will include a trail around some of our own Olympic champions - our trees and shrubs - as well as some great Olympic-themed craft activities with a woody twist! Here, the team reveal some of the Tree Champion facts you can discover at Westonbirt…

Norway Spruce

Standing only 4m tall, a Norway spruce growing in Sweden has a root system that is 9,550 years old!

The roots have lived through both ancient and modern Olympic times and were radiocarbon dated in 2008.

The current tree is the fourth tree that has been supported by these roots – as the first tree died, new vegetative growth produced a second tree, a clone.

When this second tree died, another grew up in its place, and so on until the current fourth tree.

Useful links

Become a member of the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum

More about Westonbirt’s family events