The Big Tree Art of George Tirrell: Saving Mariposa Grove

The Grizzled Giant, Sketch from nature, by G. Tirrell.

Giant sequoia, native to California, are amazing trees that can be found on Vancouver Island in Victoria. All were brought here by pioneers from the south as seeds or small trees in the 1800s. It is no wonder that people took the seeds and saplings with them - they were so impressed with these unbelievably large conifers that they did not wish to leave them behind. The pioneers left a legacy in these heritage trees that rise above all others.

Artist George Tirrell left a lasting legacy in the 1800s when he became the first person to sketch Mariposa Grove in what would later become Yosemite National Park. This grove of massive Giant sequoia quickly gained legendary status, and pilgrimages to this natural cathedral became popular. "Go to the Mariposa Grove," Alfred Lambourne advised, "and linger there until the lessons of the place sink deep into your heart".

The Devil's Spear, G. Tirrell

The Mariposa Grove contains many mighty trees. When Europeans first laid eyes on these massive columns of wood they could hardly believe it. When witnesses described the trees to others they were accused of exagerating and/or lying. But the stories were true, and nothing like the Giant sequoias had been seen before.

The Twins, Mariposa Grove, G. Tirrel

Artists like George Tirrell, were inspired by these newly discovered, cloud-scraping monuments. No doubt his work was instrumental in this global treasure eventually being protected.

Artists volunteered their work for this 1989 fund raising book

Similar efforts by artists have helped to save many of BC's beautiful ancient trees just as noteworthy and wow-inspiring as the Giant sequoias of Mariposa Grove. The campaign to save the Carmanah Valley, for example, was stunningly moved along by many Canadian artists that visited Canada's tallest trees and creatively depicted what they saw and felt.

"Campfire conversations would often turn to the stark contrast between the haunting beauty of Carmanah's virgin forest and the slash-choked, burned and blackened clearcuts that lie just outside the watershed. The artists spoke of how the distant growl of heavy logging equipment, carried by the wind from the next valley, affected them...a constant reminder as they sketched and painted, of why they were there." From: Wilderness Committee

Their efforts, like those of artists like George Tirrell before them, helped us to see the amazing beauty and diversity we would be missing if we failed to act.

California Sequoia

Giant sequoias in California by Jon Sullivan

After seeing several beautiful Giant sequoias on a drive along Gorge Road in Victoria I wanted to see what they looked like in their natural habitat. Well, they look a lot bigger, that's for sure. The photo above was taken in the Sierra Nevada Range of California.

These are the largest tree species in the world (by volume), and although they are one of the fastest growing trees, it takes a while to reach the size of the ones shown above. Victoria's impressive trees were brought as saplings from California by settlers in the 1800's, and are all babies as far as sequoias go.

Still, they have done well. Some believe that one of the Giant sequoias in town may be the tallest tree in Victoria. Scientifically speaking, these trees could continue to grow for another 3000 years!

The Giant Sequoias Of Beacon Hill Park

Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), possibly the largest tree species in the world, are to be found in several locations around Victoria, BC. These trees, native to California, were planted from imports brought to the region at the turn of the century. The tree shown above is in Beacon Hill Park.

Beacon Hill Park is designated a Heritage Tree site because of its extensive collection of beautiful native and non-native trees. Among the most visited and photographed is the tree highlighted here, located on Circle Drive. It was planted in 1913.

Sequoia are impressively large trees with distinctive reddish bark covering massive trunks that soar skywards without tapering significantly for much of their height. The bulbous broad canopy matches the girth of the trunk, and together they dominate the site in which they grow.

Other Giant sequoia in Beacon Hill Park stand near Park Way and on the north side of Goodacre Lake near the Stone Bridge.

The largest tree in the world by volume is a Giant sequoia called General Sherman in Sequoia National Park. There are some that believe that if logging hadn't decimated the Coast redwood forests of California, that the largest tree in the world by volume would most certainly be a redwood.

The Giant sequoia and Coast redwood may be vying for largest tree by volume, but it is one of Vancouver Island's native trees, the Douglas fir, that may have been the tallest trees of the ancient west coast forest. The best of them, over 122m/400 ft tall, are long gone, too.

The sequoia of Victoria are outstanding trees that are hard to miss. The Beacon Hill Park trees are worth visiting to get a taste of what the current world champion tree species is like.

The park is rich with tree life, from exotic species like the Giant sequoias to ancient examples of native varieties such as Garry oak.

If you feel like venturing farther in search of giant Giant sequoias in Victoria, check out what some claim is the primo sequoia in town. This monument to massive can be found at a residential address at the corner of Moss Street and Richardson in Fairfield, just east of downtown.

Photo credit: Norm Ringuette