Explore the JMZ's Canopy Tree Walk

April 23, 2024

Hello Friends,

I am excited to share that the Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo is the 2024 recipient of the Tall Tree Award for Outstanding Nonprofit. This award, given by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and Palo Alto Weekly, is “given to a nonprofit that has made a substantial contribution to the lasting enhancement of Palo Alto while demonstrating exceptional leadership and community involvement.” Thank you to our supporters who have allowed us to make a lasting impact on our community! To learn more about the awards and this year’s recipients, please read this feature by Palo Alto Weekly.

In this month’s newsletter, we highlight the JMZ’s Canopy Tree Walk, which has been revamped to connect to the new California Dinosaur Garden exhibition and to represent the JMZ’s current trees. Canopy, a nonprofit organization that plants and cares for trees, designed the original Tree Walk, which launched at JMZ in 2009. Canopy’s Tree Walks are routes that highlight interesting information about the trees around many Midpeninsula neighborhoods and parks. With the JMZ’s redesign and the museum’s latest exhibit, the JMZ’s Canopy Tree Walk was ready for a refresh. Visitors can enjoy this latest update starting today.

Lauren Angelo

President, Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo

The JMZ’s Canopy Tree Walk

Questions for Tina Keegan, JMZ Exhibits Director

Tell us about the JMZ’s Canopy Tree Walk. How did it come about? 

Canopy’s mission is to grow urban tree canopy in Midpeninsula communities for the benefit of all, and in 2009 Canopy designed a tree walk for the JMZ, with information on each tree along the route for visitors to enjoy. The walk was last updated in 2013. The JMZ rebuild changed the landscape of our facility and the surrounding area, so some new trees were planted and others were removed. Using the original design as a guide, we updated the route to reflect the current trees around the JMZ and to focus on concepts explored in the California Dinosaur Garden exhibit, like evolution. We are really grateful to Canopy for creating the original walk and letting us update it to reflect the JMZ today. 

The original Tree Walk guide before the JMZ was rebuilt. Photo courtesy of Canopy.

What else inspired you to revamp this walk?

Our dawn redwood tree, which was featured in the original version of the Tree Walk, inspired the exhibit concept behind the California Dinosaur Garden. The dawn redwood tree species is believed to be 100 million years old and was known to scientists only through the fossil record. It was “rediscovered” in rural China in the 1940s, and its seeds were collected and sent around the world to be planted. We consider this tree a living fossil because it has retained the same form for millions of years. The dawn redwood in the California Dinosaur Garden was likely planted in the 1950s.

Upon looking at the original version of the walk, we noticed that there were other trees that could be traced to the age of dinosaurs, more than 66 million years ago. For example, the outside of the JMZ is lined with ginkgo trees, which are nicknamed the “Dinosaur Tree.” We thought the connections between the California Dinosaur Garden and trees near the museum would be really fun to explore. Although many of the trees in this walk do not have origins in the age of dinosaurs, we learned that some trees evolved from genera that did exist during the Cretaceous period. Other trees gave us great examples of evolution or told stories of how the environment of California has changed over time.

Photo of the dawn redwood tree in the California Dinosaur Garden. Photo courtesy of BQ Creative.

When can I see the new Tree Walk?

A scannable QR code, located near the entrance of the JMZ, allows you to quickly access the updated Tree Walk guide on your phone and explore. This online guide is interactive and includes a map of where all the trees are located. As a free outdoor activity, you can enjoy the Tree Walk at any time, even outside of the JMZ’s regular hours. We are excited for visitors to learn more about the trees that grow around the JMZ and the interesting lessons they teach us. The walk changes depending on the time of year you visit because some trees lose their leaves or needles. We encourage visitors to pay special attention to the dawn redwood the next time you’re in the California Dinosaur Garden. It is the only redwood that is deciduous and sheds its small needled branches every fall.

Photo of the outside of the JMZ. Notice the pecan tree to the left, the dawn redwood to the right, and the smaller ginkgo trees along the sidewalk. Photo courtesy of Artem Nazarov.

Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo

info@friendsjmz.org | www.friendsjmz.org

Connect with us