Redwood tree I.D. & invasive ground cover

0. Save the Redwood Grove
Help save the redwood grove at Ridge Road and Le Roy Avenue, Berkeley (California).  Despite public demand, the grove is planned to be cut down by the University of California for the Paul Jacobs Design Institute.
For more information see: http://pastebin.com/u/RidgeRedwoods

1. Differences between coast redwood, dawn redwood, and giant sequoia:

On occasion, people will ask if the redwood trees in the grove are coast redwoods or dawn redwoods (Metasequoia).  Dawn redwoods are distinct in that they are deciduous redwoods; their leaves turn brown in fall and drop, leaving a bare tree through winter.  Coast redwood are iconic evergreens.  The trees in the grove are coast redwoods.

It is also sometimes asked if the trees are giant sequoia.  Needle structure can be used to determine the difference between a coast redwood and a giant sequoia.  Coast redwoods have longer needles than giant sequoia.  The branchlets of coast redwoods are flat, while the branchlets of giant sequoia are thinner and rounded.

2. Invasive ground cover versus native ground cover

On UC campus and in the city of Berkeley, it came common to plant English ivy as a quick, all purpose ground cover.  Ivy gained favor in landscaping due to the plant's symbolic association with higher education and social prestige.  English ivy spreads and reproduces easily in Berkeley's climate; aggressively invasive, ivy crowds-out native plant species.  As well, ivy takes up water which could be used by other plants.

In the redwood grove, the ivy is crowding-out the California strawberry (Fragaria californica).  The native strawberry should be the majority ground cover between the trees, but it is being smothered by the invasive ivy.  As it is less dense than ivy, a ground cover of California strawberry would take up less water than ivy, allowing more water to go the redwoods.  And also because it is less dense than ivy, a ground cover of the native strawberry would allow room for other native plants (native wildflowers and grasses) to grow in the grove.

Another problem with ivy is that it climbs trees, adding stress to trees by the added extra weight of the invasive vines.  Ivy can lead to damage which could leave the tree susceptible to disease.  Ivy can block out light on shorter trees, or completely smother very young saplings.

The trees in the grove are healthy, but they would have the potential to live an even healthier and longer life if the ground cover of the grove was properly maintained.