‘It could be a big tree in 1,000 years’: tiny seedlings of giant sequoias rise from ashes of wildfire

Extraordinary measures are being taken to save some of the world's largest and oldest trees, which are at risk of being wiped out by more intense fires

Ashtyn Perry was barely as tall as the shovel she stomped into barren ground where a wildfire last year ravaged the California mountain community of Sequoia Crest and destroyed dozens of its signature behemoth trees.

The 13-year-old with a broad smile and a braid running to her waist had a higher purpose that, if successful, she'll never live to see: to plant a baby sequoia that could grow into a giant and live for millennia.