How San Francisco Preschoolers Are Helping Bring Back Giant Redwoods

Around 500 years ago, the Bay Area was littered with Redwoods. What once used to line hundreds of miles of the Northern California coast, is now a rare tourist attraction.

Scientists are now trying to plant a new generation of these giant trees, reports ABC7. David Milarch and his Archangel Ancient Tree Archive take clippings from the tops of the oldest, largest trees and take them back to his lab in Copemish, Michigan.

Then specialists use a technique called micropropagation to grow them into saplings.

To get all the saplings into the ground, San Francisco pre-schoolers from Cow Hollow School (also known as tree-schoolers) have stepped up to the task.

These tree-schoolers attend outdoor classes to learn about ecology and sustainability at an early age.

"Today is a particularly important day because we're planting some very important trees which is why we have some very special volunteers," said Jean Fraser, CEO of Presidio Trust.

More than 95% of the natural Redwood forests have been erased due to wildfires, deforestation, and climate change, according to Save The Redwoods.

"Recently we've been placing thousands and thousands of these redwoods in the Seattle area," said Milarch. "They're living in England, Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and British Colombia. Now the schools are calling saying we're going to need a heck of a lot more of these redwoods and sequoias because we want our school children reforesting up there. And don't be surprised in 10 years when you drive up, those trees in 10 years will be 30 or 40 feet tall."