Winner of Olympia’s biggest tree contest was a last-minute entry. Here’s how to see them
Just two months ago, the largest tree in Olympia was believed to be one that kids on the west side call the Garfield cat tree. From the nearby school playground the coast redwood’s split crown resembles a set of triangular ears, which stem from four separate trees that share a trunk measuring 30 feet in circumference.
But that tree has been surpassed in a competition spearheaded by local nonprofit Restoring Earth Connection to help document the largest tree in each neighborhood, as well as the largest of each species. The work was done through an Inspire Olympia grant.
The largest tree has been identified as a Giant Sequoia that measures 31 feet and 11 inches in circumference.
You can view photos of the largest trees and find out where they’re located on Restoring Earth Connection’s website. Unfortunately, the owner of the largest tree doesn’t want to disclose the location of their property — it’s in the northeast quadrant of the city, however.
The second-largest tree is the Garfield tree, located at 1701 Fourth Ave. SW. People are encouraged to check out the trees, but do so from a distance and avoid walking onto private property.
Following the winning Giant Sequoia, the second-largest tree in northeast Olympia is a coast redwood that measures 25 feet and 11 inches in circumference. It’s at 2116 Bethel St. NE.
The largest tree with a location listed in the southeast quadrant of Olympia is a set of coast redwoods that measure 21 and 22 feet at their bases. They’re at 1811 Eskridge Blvd. SE.
In downtown and north of I-5, the largest tree is another pair of trees, this time two Giant Sequoias that measure 21 and 22 feet at their bases. They’re located at the corner of State Avenue and Turner Street.
The second-largest redwood can be seen on the west side of town at 826 Percival St. SW. Its base measures 27 feet and 4 inches in circumference.
What was learned?
Executive Director Lynn Fitz-Hugh said the contest is the culmination of a 5-month canvassing effort to share with Olympia residents the benefits of the trees on their property. She said benefits include drawing down pollution, drawing down and storing carbon to help combat climate change, managing storm water to prevent flooding, reducing heat islands and more.
“Because the biggest trees do the most carbon drawdown and storage, the most pollution drawdown and the most storm water management, we really focused on finding the biggest trees and thus held a contest for the biggest trees in Olympia,” she said.
Fitz-Hugh shared some anecdotes about the contest winners. She said the Percival Street property with the redwood has been owned by the same man for 50 years.
The tree split into two parts about 15 feet up, and during a windstorm one side broke. A neighbor said she thought there was an earthquake when the giant tree hit the ground. The tree avoided the owner’s house, and the owner joked that the tree continues to protect him.
Fitz-Hugh said many of the big-tree owners felt their trees protected them, but some also expressed concern about the possibility of failures and their homes being damaged. Hiring an arborist for a tree assessment isn’t cheap, but Fitz-Hugh recommends connecting with one if there are any concerns. You can find a licensed arborist in your region online.
She said the nonprofit also learned that almost without exception, the biggest trees in Olympia were on properties owned by elderly residents or they were rental properties. She said that means all those big trees are at risk, because when those homeowners die or when a rental property sells, there’s no telling what a developer will do.
“This is how a lot of really big trees in Seattle are coming down right now,” Fitz-Hugh said. “So this has some interesting implications for Olympia, which is intending to redo their tree code this year.”
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