How old am I?

There are a few ways you can work out how old a tree is - why not have a go yourself?

Counting tree rings

When a tree has been cut down, you can tell how old it was by looking at the trunk. Take a close look at the sculpture - do you see the tree rings? Each ring shows a year of growth. Trees grow faster in sunny and warm months, seen as lighter coloured wood, then slow down during cloudy and colder months, leaving darker wood marking the end of the year's growth. When the weather has been especially nice, the growth ring is bigger, in years with harsh weather the ring will be smaller. Can you spot which year had the most growth? 

To help with counting, there are plaques showing the age of the tree at certain points. Once you have practiced on the sculpture, why not find another tree stump to count the rings of?

Hug a tree 

You can also discover the age of a tree by measuring the size of the trunk. A fun way to do this is by giving the tree a big hug. If your arms can't reach all the way round, why not ask a friend to hug the tree with you? Then measure the length of all the arms needed to wrap around the whole tree. The next step is to take that number and divide it by the number listed below next to the species of tree you are looking at. You may need a grown up to help you with the calculations! To help you work out the species of a tree, have a look on our identification page here.

Count by hand

If you're not feeling like a hug - you can measure the tree using your hands instead. Work out the size of your hand, from the tip of your longest finger to your wrist, then this becomes your measuring tool. Make your way around the tree, putting one hand in front of the other, seeing how many hands it takes you to get back to the starting point. Multiply the number of hands by their size to get the trunk measurement, then divide by the number in the table above as before. 

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