Tall ones, wide ones, awe-inspiring ones: This list is for “only the coolest” trees in our area.

“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.” — Khalil Gibran

The world’s wordsmiths have written volumes about trees. Regular folks like Ann Miller might put it more plainly:

“I haven’t met anyone who loves them who’s grumpy.”

It’s a misty morning in Norfolk’s Lakewood Park, and Miller is peering through a device called a clinometer, tallying the height of a majestic Southern live oak.

The clinometer isn’t easy to master. One eye must focus through a tiny hole in the device while the other eye stays trained on the tree in the distance.

Height won’t reveal the tree’s age. Neither will diameter or canopy spread — measurements others in the group with Miller are busy calculating. So many things affect growth: soil, sunlight, water, all the hardships this giant has endured during its lifetime.

“But I’d guess it’s at least 400 years old,” says Mary Jo Rothgery, a Norfolk master gardener who helps head up the city’s Significant Tree Registry, an effort started 10 years ago to catalog the most-interesting trees in town.

From spring to autumn, this band of a dozen or so volunteers musters on Mondays to roam the city, poking through parks, fields, cemeteries and school yards.

Unusual, exceptional or historical specimens — “only the coolest ones,” Rothgery says — are added to a database the public can access and contribute to by nominating contenders.

The hope is that we’ll all pause, lift our gaze “and notice how magnificent trees really are,” Rothgery says.

It’s a given that they’re good for the environment: cleaning the air, absorbing excess water. Flood-prone Norfolk is on a drive to plant hundreds more. This live oak being measured can soak up 50-plus gallons a day.

But trees grant other gifts as well. Research compiled by the U.S Forest Service and the University of Washington indicates that more green space in urban communities leads to less crime and aggression.

“Trees give peace to the souls of men.” — Nora Waln

Perspective comes easier in their presence. This live oak emerged from its acorn centuries ago, taking root alongside the early English settlers, stubbornly holding its ground as a metropolis materialized around it.

Now, it’s a cathedral of solid limbs and dancing leaves — soaring 64 feet with a crown that spreads nearly 100 feet, and a base that four adults grasping hands would have a hard time reaching around.

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All that bulk won’t assure it a place on the registry, though, since the database isn’t merely devoted to size. The registry spans an alphabet of varieties — everything from American beech to Yoshino Cherry — with some making the cut for their perfect symmetry or impressive perseverance in unlikely surroundings.

You might be surprised to learn we’ve got some California Redwoods, oddly enough on Magnolia Lane. And there’s a sycamore on Cohoon Road, planted in 1882, that once served as a lookout post for spotting sailing ships arriving from the bay. In Northside Park, right behind a bus stop on Tidewater Drive, there’s a 92-foot-tall pin oak that’s prized for its thick, graceful branches and the awe stirred by standing near its trunk and looking up through its limbs.

The registry and form for nominating a special tree can be found at significanttrees.norfolk.gov. Or call 757-683-2816.

It doesn’t matter if the tree is in your own yard — for privacy’s sake, exact addresses don’t have to be included in the database — in a median or on a golf course. The band of volunteers will come check out the most promising leads.

Those in the group — from all walks of life and mostly retired — have developed an expertise in trees through master gardener courses. They get together to spend time with folks who share their passion and want to pass it on to others.

All growing things have something to teach, but perhaps none more than trees.

“Learn character from trees, values from roots, and change from leaves.” — Tasneem Hameed