El Palo Alto Park

This 1100-year-old Coast Redwood tree is a living legend, a must-see, the reason behind the Stanford logo, the namesake for the city of Palo Alto, the witness tree for early Spanish missionaries setting up missions in the Bay Area, and is daily threatened by litterers and vandals to the point where the humbling giant might not live to see another few years if neglect and human ignorance continues.

The city of Palo Alto "maintains" the tree, and, dare I say, they do not do a very proper job of keeping the area clean and safe for the tree or human visitors alike. I have personally written them a letter of complaint, and I urge all nature-lovers and friends of El Palo Alto in particular to do the same. This tree did NOT live so long to be screwed over by bureaucracy.

Visit here to connect with a giant being on a small patch of nature that grows less and less natural by the day as the tree and park grounds lie in continual disrepair. With help, though, we can turn this trend around.

Should you go, though, PLEASE do not litter, PLEASE do not vandalize, PLEASE do not tear off needles / bark as souvenirs, and PLEASE DO tell all you know that might care about the need to protect the tree.