THE Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, at the heart of California’s Yosemite National Park, is home to 500 of the towering trees – many at least 2,000 years old, having sprouted around the time of Jesus Christ. One of the world’s 65 remaining natural sequoia groves, and the largest in Yosemite, Mariposa Grove reopened in June, three years after the start of a $40 million restoration project to protect the ancient giants for future generations. The oldest sequoias can live for more than 3,000 years, their bark resisting insect attacks and helping them survive countless wildfires over the millennia. Gone…
