Jul 20, 2016

Volunteers with the nonprofit group Archangel Ancient Tree Archive collect genetic samples from ancient trees and clone them in a lab to be planted in the forest. The group believes the giant sequoias and coastal redwoods are blessed with some of the heartiest genetics of any trees on earth and that propagating them will help reverse climate change.

: In this May 23, 2016 photo, David Milarch, a Michigan nurseryman and co-founder of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, is interviewed in the southern Sierra Nevada near Camp Nelson, Calif. Milarch runs the nonprofit group that collects genetic samples from ancient trees and clones them in a lab to be planted in the forest. He believes the giant sequoias and coastal redwoods are blessed with some of the heartiest genetics of any trees on earth and that propagating them will help reverse climate change. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)

: In this May 23, 2016 photo, arborist Jim Clark inches up a giant sequoia to collect new growth from its canopy in the southern Sierra Nevada near Camp Nelson, Calif. Clark volunteers with Archangel Ancient Tree Archives, a nonprofit group that collects genetic samples from ancient trees and clones them in a lab to be planted in the forest. The group believes the giant sequoias and coastal redwoods are blessed with some of the heartiest genetics of any trees on earth and that propagating them will help reverse climate change. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)

: In this May 23, 2016 photo, arborist Jim Clark inches up a giant sequoia to collect new growth from its canopy in the southern Sierra Nevada near Camp Nelson, Calif. Clark volunteers with Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a nonprofit group that collects genetic samples from ancient trees and clones them in a lab to be planted in the forest. The group believes the giant sequoias and coastal redwoods are blessed with some of the heartiest genetics of any trees on earth and that propagating them will help reverse climate change. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)

: In this May 23, 2016 photo, arborist Jim Clark holds a sprig of new growth that he collected from the dizzying top of an ancient giant sequoia in the southern Sierra Nevada near Camp Nelson, Calif. Clark volunteers with Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a nonprofit group that collects genetic samples from ancient trees and clones them in a lab to be planted in the forest. The group believes the giant sequoias and coastal redwoods are blessed with some of the heartiest genetics of any trees on earth and that propagating them will help reverse climate change. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)

: In this May 23, 2016 photo, arborist Jim Clark holds a sprig of new growth that he collected from the dizzying top of an ancient giant sequoia in the southern Sierra Nevada near Camp Nelson, Calif. Clark volunteers with Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a nonprofit group that collects genetic samples from ancient trees and clones them in a lab to be planted in the forest. The group believes the giant sequoias and coastal redwoods are blessed with some of the heartiest genetics of any trees on earth and that propagating them will help reverse climate change. (AP Photo/Scott Smith)

: This May 25, 2016, photo shows Jim Clark, left, and Tom Brodhagen of the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive in Copemish, Mich., processing greenery that colleagues had cut from giant sequoia trees in California. Brodhagen selects pieces of the cuttings that can grow into clones of the original trees, while Clark plants them in small containers holding a peat-and-gel mixture. The clones will be stored in a climate-controlled laboratory in Copemish until they are large enough to be planted. The group hopes to plant thousands of genetic copies of ancient trees to restore forests and fight climate change. (AP Photo/John Flesher)

: In this May 25, 2016, photo, Tom Brodhagen, left, and Jim Clark examine cuttings from giant sequoia trees in the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive laboratory in Copemish, Mich. The cuttings were taken from an Archangel expedition in California and flown to Michigan, where Brodhagen and Clark snipped off pieces of greenery and planted them in small containers. The goal is to create thousands of giant sequoia clones that will grow large enough to be planted in the wild, helping restore forests and combat climate change. (AP Photo/John Flesher)

: This May 25, 2016, photo shows trays of freshly planted tips of cuttings from giant sequoia trees at the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive laboratory in Copemish, Mich. The cuttings were taken from giant sequoias in California. Archangel leaders say they’ll keep the tips in the climate-controlled building, where they can grow large enough to plant in the wild, helping restore forests and fight climate change by storing vast amounts of carbon. (AP Photo/John Flesher)

: In this May 25, 2016, photo, Tom Brodhagen, left, and Jim Clark hold shows trays of freshly planted tips of cuttings from giant sequoia trees at the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive laboratory in Copemish, Mich. The cuttings were taken from sequoias in California. Archangel leaders say they’ll keep the tips in the climate-controlled building, where they can grow large enough to plant in the wild, helping restore forests and fight climate change by storing vast amounts of carbon. (AP Photo/John Flesher)

: In this May 25, 2016, photo, Tom Brodhagen of the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive in Copemish, Mich., snips off a tip of a cutting from a giant sequoia tree in California. It will be planted in a mixture of peat and gel with a goal of growing it into an adult clone that can be planted with thousands of others to restore forests and fight climate change by storing vast amounts of carbon. (AP Photo/John Flesher)

: In this May 25, 2016, photo, Tom Brodhagen, left, Jim Clark, center, and Chris Moore examine cuttings from giant sequoia trees in the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive laboratory in Copemish, Mich. The cuttings were taken from an Archangel expedition in California and flown to Michigan, where Brodhagen, Clark and Moore snipped off pieces of greenery and planted them in small containers. The goal is to create thousands of giant sequoia clones that will grow large enough to be planted in the wild, helping restore forests and combat climate change. (AP Photo/John Flesher)

: In this May 25, 2016, photo, Jim Clark of the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive in Copemish, Mich., holds a newly planted tip of greenery that was cut from a giant sequoia tree in California. It will be planted in a mixture of peat and gel with a goal of growing it into an adult clone that can be used with thousands of others to restore forests and fight climate change by storing vast amounts of carbon. (AP Photo/John Flesher)

: This May 25, 2016, photo shows Jim Clark, left, and Tom Brodhagen of the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive in Copemish, Mich., processing greenery that colleagues had cut from giant sequoia trees in California. Brodhagen selects pieces of the cuttings that can grow into clones of the original trees, while Clark plants them in small containers holding a peat-and-gel mixture. The clones will be stored in a climate-controlled laboratory in Copemish until they are large enough to be planted. The group hopes to plant thousands of genetic copies of ancient trees to restore forests and fight climate change. (AP Photo/John Flesher)

Cloning California’s giant trees to reverse climate change

Leave a Reply Cancel