Making a place for gentle giants.

For me and so many others, trees are stalwart symbols of precious days past - the old red maple whose branches bore a budding gymnast, the weeping willow that shielded me from monsters, the row of elms that stood in as goalposts for weekend football games, my grandparents' apple tree that bore odd-shaped, super-tart fruit.

Many of us take trees so much for granted that it can take disaster, disease, or development to rekindle our emotions and spur us into action. Or it can take the realization of just how majestic these giants really are. For many, the impetus is provided by the biennial National Register of Big Trees, this year featuring some 840 trees - each standing as the largest known example of its species.

In the case of the national champion yellow-poplar or tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in Bedford, Virginia, local developer Thomas Robinson planned to cut down the tree to make room for a housing project until he was informed of its significance. The town's official history maintains that this national champion, which stands 146 feet high with a crown spread of 125 feet and a circumference of 374 inches, has attracted visitors from other states and countries. It is also the star of advertisements for The Davey Tree Expert Company - sponsors of the National Register of Big Trees. Robinson - swayed by popular opinion - donated the land surrounding the tree, valued at more than $10,000, to Bedford. Today the champ's home turf is known as Poplar Park.

Another giant that faced its demise through development was New York City's Bedford-Stuyvesant southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), the state's largest. When the tree was considered an impediment to Brooklyn's urban-renewal process in the 1970s, community activist Hattie Carthan gathered more than 100 kids and enough money for its survival. The tree is now a New York City landmark.

In a similar vein, Jacksonville, Florida's Treaty Oak (Quercus virginiana) - under whose branches, legend has it, treaties were signed with local Indian tribes - presides over its own seven-acre city park. Developers planned to cut this tree down in 1948 in the name of progress until Jessie Ball dupont, philanthropist and wife of Alfred duPont - millionaire son of the chemical company family - responded to a plea from the Garden Club of Jacksonville by purchasing the property upon which the tree stood. According to the Jessie Ball dupont Fund, Mrs. dupont conveyed the land to the city, stipulating that it should be used only for a public park.

At Old Tucson movie studios in Arizona, maintenance crews lovingly tend to the national champion Jerusalem-thorn (Parkinsonia aculeata), which has starred opposite such luminaries as John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Emilio Estevez, Steve Martin, and Clint Eastwood in movies ranging from Rio Bravo and Winchester 73 to Young Guns and Three Amigos.

"We pay special attention to this tree - including enlisting the expertise of the state forest service and undergoing a major project to stake it up - since it is the largest of its kind," Old Tucson's head gardener Gary Allen says. The tree - which survived a recent fire on the studio grounds but now has a split trunk, making it susceptible to high winds - is the focal point of the studio's themed-attraction area.

Dedicated individuals, inspired by the grace. beauty, age, history, and the environmental benefits of these regal relics, have done much to teach others the importance of preserving these trees - the biggest and oldest we know. And the Register is inspiration to all who read it to search for, measure, and nominate the biggest trees they can find in hopes of preserving even more of these gentle giants. - EMILY KNACK

RELATED ARTICLE: Planting Potential Champions & Learning History Too

Being one-on-one with a big tree is good for the ego; that massive trunk and broad canopy inspire awe while reminding us of our small place in the ecosystem. Try to imagine that giant 200 or 300 years ago: a seedling emerging in a totally different world. That's one of the beauties of these champion trees; they're both a link with the past and a hope for the future.

AMERICAN FORESTS combines the past, present, and future in a practical program called Living Classrooms. Hundreds of schools throughout the country have planted these special tree groves on their school grounds or in adjacent parks and open lands. Students combine tree planting and care with curriculum materials to learn about history, science, and the environment.

The trees in Living Classrooms come from AMERICAN FORESTS' Famous & Historic Trees collection. We have located and authenticated hundreds of special trees, some alive when Columbus sailed for America, others growing during the American Revolution or on Civil War battlefields.

A Living Classroom consists of 20 Famous & Historic Trees selected by teachers and their students. AMERICAN FORESTS provides the trees, fertilizer, tree stakes and shelters, and written and video directions for planting. Teacher-designed curriculum materials on urban forestry, sustainable development, history, and science are provided. And as these trees continue to grow, they will continue to educate generations of children.

Consider the possibilities with a Revolutionary War Living Classroom that includes offspring of the Patrick Henry osage-orange, which grows at the patriot's home in Red Hill, Virginia, and is the national champion for its species. The Marquis de Lafayette, who fought for the American colonists and was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania, had his wounds attended while leaning against what is the parent tree of the Lafayette sycamore. Its "TreeStory" is used as a jumping-off point for students to learn about historical links between the U.S. and its foreign allies.

Students can learn about the Civil Rights movement by choosing to plant offspring of the Martin Luther King Jr. water oak. The tree grows in front of the Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Alabama, where the famous civil-rights march to the state capitol began.

Hundreds of Living Classrooms are being planted by schools every year. Corporate and institutional sponsors provide the trees and the educational materials to schools in their area. Who knows. . . one of the trees we plant in a Living Classroom today may one day reign as a national champion.

To learn more about how you can become involved in providing Living Classrooms to schools in your area, or how to purchase a Famous & Historic Tree for your own yard, please call 800/320-8733 for a copy of our Famous & Historic Trees catalog.