Redwood Park is an interesting walk as you have the juxtaposition of being out amongst the trees and nature while at the same time the feeling that the environment is just not a natural one.

Like most of the lower Mainland this land was cleared and logged long ago. However the area was replanted in a very unique way, creating the unusual experience. Around 1890 the land was part of a homestead owned by David Brown. He gave his deaf twin sons, David and Peter, each 40 acres of land on the hilltop for their twenty-first birthdays. The twins were greatly interested in trees and began to replant the land with exotic species. As time passed they grew trees from all over the world from seeds or seedlings, while becoming more isolated and eccentric. They built a two story tree house amongst the trees where they lived. This home burnt down several times, but they rebuilt. After their deaths in the 1950's the land was donated to the city of Surrey and became a park.

When we first reached the park I was disappointed. The area near the parking lot is undergoing some renovations and large areas of the lawn are being re-seeded. However these picnic areas near the entrance are not what is special about the park. There are bathrooms, large covered picnic shelters and a playground. The few trees in this area are interesting specimens but feel much more isolated and regimented and thus do not compare to what you will see when you walk into the woods.

Also along this path you can see the main grove of California Redwoods, the largest north of the 49th parallel. These were all grown by the twins from seedlings they imported. Although the Redwoods are not yet the towering giants they may become, they are an impressive sight. The grove is large enough to give you a feeling of being transported away from the usual into an area with a completely different kind of forest.

The smaller trails through the woods are surrounded by a jumble of exotic and familiar trees. The winding paths were almost deserted on an overcast Monday evening, leading to a greater feeling of adventure and exploration. Some of the foreign species appear to be losing a battle against the common species, while others like the European Black Walnut have created a small grove on either side of the path, with new seedlings sprouting from the fallen nuts.

Further down the trail was a meadow surrounded by more labeled trees. The Big Leaf Maple was magnificent, and we had to stop to examine the wildflowers in the meadow along with some Shasta daisies which have gone feral. . The trail divides at this point, going down the slope into the woods before looping back to the parking lot, or you can take the shorter more level trail back to the picnic area. In total the trails are over 5 kilometers and exploring them all would take over an hour. There are some sloped areas and some roots and rocks on the lesser used trails so wear good walking shoes.

One of the trees that interested me most in the park was the Dawn Redwood from China. This was one of the younger trees near the picnic table, and must have been one of the later species added to the collection. The Dawn Redwood became a favorite of collectors in the late 1940's and 1950's because of its fame and previous rarity. The species once grew all over several continents in temperate forests but was thought to have gone extinct around 20 million years ago. The fossil remains of the tree were first identified in Japan in 1941. However several years later a small stand of the trees were discovered in a remote area of China. By 1948 seedlings from this species were available to be grown in North America, and the tree became a very popular ornamental species. Today the tree is protected in China but is almost extinct in the wild, yet can be commonly found in gardens in many temperate regions.