I remember the cedar tree that stood on this spot. As it says in the notice that the woman with the hat is reading, the tree started to fail in 2020 and had to be felled. I was sad to see it go, but now we have Cedric.
This is what the notice that the woman is reading says.
Cedric was created from a section of trunk from the old Cedar tree (Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca’) that used to stand in this very spot.
Cedrus atlantica is a coniferous evergreen tree which grows naturally in the mountains of Morocco and Algeria. The species is endangered and under threat from logging, fire and goat grazing. Unfortunately, one in three tree species are threatened with extinction globally.
The tree that was used to make this crocodile was one of the oldest trees in the Garden. Sadly, when the tree started to fail in 2020, it needed to be removed. Another tree of this species can be found growing on the Main Walk, currently 10m tall and 16 years old.
The wood from the tree has been resurrected in crocodile form by local artist Lisa Langley from Cambridge Chainsaw Carving.
During our 175th anniversary celebrations, we asked staff and visitors to suggest names for our crocodile and Cedric came out tops. We are thrilled with our new addition which will be moved to its permanent home in the Dell in due course.
I have passed Cedric many times and never went to look closer. I was there for ‘Nature’ and not for a sculpture! Then it so happened that I was sitting on a bench looking towards Cedric, still not interested to see him closer or at all. I was interested in stopping a moment to see the Garden from a different angle, to look past the two thin larches, and over to the pines on the right in the distance.
Then these people turned up and I could feel the push and pull as my interest in the crocodile was piqued. And then I though how silly it was of me to deny that my interest was piqued, and how standoffish and superior I was being just because I was a real nature lover, not just a casual visitor. So now I know about Cedric, and being of very slow wits I am only now seeing the Cedar-Cedric connection in the name.
Photograph Works 