It's value to Petersfield is tree-mendous

IT’S VERY, very tall, dark and handsome – and it’s Petersfield’s top tree.

A giant sequoia, which soars above homes in Grenehurst Way, at 29.73 metres high, has been identified as the town’s most valuable tree for improving the environment.

Criteria such as removing pollutants from the air and intercepting water were included in the Petersfield i-Tree Survey.

The survey results –?conducted following the threat to the maple trees in The Square –?were unveiled to a ‘Petersfield in a Changing Climate’ forum organised by The Petersfield Society.

From 15,440 pieces of information about 177 trees collected by tree warden Robin Hart and his team, it was indicted that the town had some 60,500 trees made up of more than 70 species, with the most common oak, elm and ash. Despite this, there was below average canopy cover of just 15 per cent, with calls for more planting.

The value in monetary terms of the trees was worked out too, with the Giant Sequoia on top at £185,000.

Robin said it was a tree he “honoured”.

Gail Wyld, whose front door is just feet from the tree, said it was very special.

“It has just got real presence,” she said.