“Big Red” rises up from Honeysuckle HIll at Boston Lot in West Lebanon; it may be Lebanon’s largest Northern Red Oak tree, with a circumference of more than 200 inches at chest height. (Red Oaks are fast growing trees, often growing 2 feet per year.)

An oak’s niche is to provide food and shelter to animals. Animals may live in the tree, by creating a nest or living in a hole, or use the tree for shelter from weather or hiding from predators. The main source of food oaks provide is their acorns, but some animals will also eat the leaves or bark.The acorns are an especially important sources of animal food in winter. Although White Oak acorns, which have less tannin, are preferred by most animals, the Red Oak acorns are actually more nutritious, so a combination of Red Oak and White Oak acorns is healthiest.

Lebanon residents, Barbara Hirai and Sarah Riley, have submitted Big Red to the NH Big Tree program. It might be a Grafton County champion, depending on whether the reigning champ on Balch Hill in Hanover is still standing.