Can you estimate the height of a tree?

Outdoor learning is a great way to educate children (and adults!), to help them discover and appreciate the natural world on their doorstep, whether that’s a public space or their own back garden.

So, we’ve developed some easy activities for you to try at home. Here, we take inspiration from the magnificent trees at Culzean Castle & Country Park.

Who knew maths could be so much fun?

The simple premise is that if you view a treetop from a 45-degree angle, the height of the tree is equivalent to the distance you are away from it.

Step 1

Walk away from your tree, but at regular intervals bend forward and look through your legs back towards your tree.

Step 2

Continue doing this until you can just see the top of the tree. We made sure that we did lots of warm-up stretches before attempting this!

Step 3

Measure the distance along the ground from your back to the tree. We marked the spot in chalk before getting out the tape measure.

Step 4

The distance you have measured is roughly equal to the tree’s height – ours turned out to be just under 8m tall.

What you’ll need

• Tree • Person (with flexibility) • Piece of chalk • Measuring tape

We’d love to hear how you get on estimating the height of your chosen tree. So if you’d like to share any pics of your family doing this, we’d love to see them! Just tag @nationaltrustforscotland