Stirk House Hotel in Gisburn one of sites chosen to plant a giant Redwood tree to mark Ribble Valley Council's 50th anniversary

And one of the places that has been chosen is Stirk House Hotel in Gisburn. The trees can grow up to 85 metres high and can live for thousands of years. One of the trees has been planted at the hotel within 22 acres of beautiful estate grounds which feature colourful gardens, an ancient forest and a nature trail. Although the tree is tiny now, visitors for generations to come will be able to see it grow into one of the tallest living things in the world.

Dave Hewitt who is the Ribble Valley Borough Countryside Officer said: “Redwoods are the tallest and largest living things on earth capable of storing hundreds of tonnes of carbon through ‘sequestration’, the process by which trees capture and store carbon in their roots and branches.

“The planting of one giant redwood will offset one person’s lifetime carbon footprint, in addition, one redwood will store more carbon than a hectare of woodland and 250 times more than the average tree. Redwoods were once native to this country, fossil evidence demonstrates that these enormous Redwood trees were growing in Britain millions of years ago.

“This initiative will help to safeguard an endangered species which, as a result of global warming, is under threat in its remaining stronghold of California.”

Ribble Valley Mayor Mark Hindle said: “In 1974, climate change was barely heard of, so we wanted to commemorate our 50th anniversary with an eye on the next 50 years and these carbon-busting ‘golden groves’ are the perfect way.