Wanna help find and protect San Francisco's tallest tree? This kid does, too!

My kid and I are raising funds to help us answer one surprisingly big question: what is San Francisco’s tallest tree?

This started when my kid learned at CASA Summer Camp how to estimate a tree’s height using its shadow. Later in the summer, we went camping in Yosemite, and seeing those giant trees sparked a simple question: "Mom, what's San Francisco's tallest tree?"

This became a surprisingly challenging question to answer. We discovered that the tree recognized as San Francisco’s tallest, a 218-foot Tasmanian Blue Gum in Stern Grove (also noted by National Geographic as the tallest Blue Gum in the US), was cut down without even an acknowledgment of what was being lost. Did SF Parks and Rec even know?

It feels wrong that in a city that cares so much about nature, we may not even know which tree now holds that honor. So we want to find the new tallest tree, help get it officially recognized, and advocate for its protection.

To do that, we need reliable measuring tools. We can use simple approaches like the shadow or stick method to narrow down possible candidates, but those aren’t accurate enough for official verification. Funds from this fundraiser will help us purchase better equipment, such as a $200 clinometer, a $500 laser rangefinder, or, if we’re incredibly fortunate, a $2,200 hypsometer. The more we’re able to raise, the more reliable our assessment can be.

If this mission speaks to you, we’d be so grateful for your support. To us, this is about more than measuring a tree. It’s about encouraging a child’s curiosity, supporting conservation in San Francisco, and showing kids that they really can make a difference in small, actionable ways.