Putting More of Victoria's Sequoias On The Map

This giant sequoia is located at the corner of Moss and Richardson in Victoria, BC,
and may be the largest tree in the city.

In the ten years I lived in the Victoria, BC area, the big tree hunter in me was blown away by the beauty of the massive urban sequoias. 

These trees are north of their usual range in California, but some have still managed to become large, eye-popping trees.

I published a post about my project of mapping some of the trees I found so others could find and enjoy them, too. 

That post, Mapping The Giant Sequoias Of Victoria, BC is the second most viewed post on our blog.  

It also has more comments than anything else I have published here, as readers share their favourite Victoria sequoias over the years.

A while back, a comment on that post alerted me to the work of other Victoria-based sequoia hunters that have picked up on my mapping project.

These big tree aficionados have found more than 350 of these trees in the Victoria area! 

A giant sequoia in Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, BC

Here is the comment they left on our blog:

 

"Thanks to Greg's initial idea, this winter we have made an effort to identify as many sequoias in Victoria as possible while walking all around the city.

 

We have actually found more than 350(!) of them (including a half dozen Coast Redwoods), much to our surprise.

The map showing all the sequoias we have found so far around Victoria is now online at:

 

Not Only Natural website

 

 

We hope that people here will find it interesting/helpful. Yes it was a bit of work looking for them, but also quite enjoyable - and thought-provoking.

 

Please have a look at the map and let us know what you think - and if you know of any sequoias we have not yet seen. (We haven't included dawn redwoods, just because they seem to be in a different category than the redwoods that naturally grow south of here.)

Wow! Thanks to the good folks over at the Not Only Natural. It is heartening to see the project I initiated continuing on and being expanded. 

We also have to thank the good people of Victoria, BC and area that have commented here to share their favourite big sequoias, making this urban big tree project more fun and complete.

Please do take a look at the Not Only Natural website and map. 

Is your favourite Victoria giant sequoia on it?

Extending Pacific Rim National Park

West Coast Trail ladders aid movement through the rainforest.
Photo credit: footloosiety

The mist blowing off the sea and through the canopy of the rain forest near Port Renfrew, BC sweeps through some of the most monumental coastal trees in BC, Canada, and the world. Some, including ex-MP Keith Martin, think that extending Vancouver Island's spectacular coastal park south could give the trees the protected status they richly deserve.

View Pacific Rim National Park Extension in a larger map.


Clear cut logging of the last unprotected old-growth forests adjacent to Pacific Rim National Park has been taking place since the park was established in 1971. Logging often takes place right to the boundary of the narrow strip of coastal park, and can be heard in places from campsites on the West Coast Trail.

Logging old growth in the Upper Walbran valley near the spectacular (and unprotected) Castle Grove, home to the Castle Giant, one of Canada's largest Western red cedars.
Photo credit: Wilderness Committee

In places like the Klanawa, Rosander, Upper Nitinat, Upper Walbran, Gordon, Hadikin Lake and San Juan Valleys, precious old growth of the type that draws over 1 million visitors a year to the National Park is thoughtlessly destroyed.

Stunning forest along the WCT.
Photo credit: footloosiety

A proposal to extend Pacific Rim National Park could include these old growth trees, as well as the Juan de Fuca trail, and adjoining resource lands of speculator Ender Ilkay's failed bid to rezone and develop the wild west coast between Sooke and Port Renfrew.

The Red Creek Fir is the world's largest know Douglas fir. It is
presently unprotected. Photo credit: Ancient Forest Alliance/TJ Watt

Near the south end of the West Coast Trail Unit of Pacific Rim National Park, lie some of British Columbia's most monumental coastal trees. In spite of being listed on BC's Big Tree Registry, none of them are officially protected by the province. Extending Pacific Rim National Park to include these trees and others, is an idea whose time has come.

Some of our largest remaining trees and wild stretches of coastline are being targeted by both logging interests and the provincial government through corporate-friendly policies. 90% of the most productive forests on Vancouver Island have already been affected.

The people made Pacific Rim National Park happen in the first place. We can extend it. But it will take a public outcry if we are to save the last big trees.

Mapping Significant Arbutus of Vancouver Island

Detail of Arbutus in Roche Cove Park, Sooke

This map augments a post I did on one of British Columbia's most beautiful and unique native trees - the Arbutus. The interactive map highlights some of the significant Arbutus on Vancouver Island, mostly in the Victoria and S. Island area where the peeling bark evergreen trees are most common.



View Victoria and S. Island Big Arbutus in a larger map

Click on the tree icons for more information.

Some of the Arbutus noted are street trees in urban areas, while others can be found in more natural and remote settings. All are amazing trees surviving in a harsh, coastal environment. Often living on rocks in marginal soil not far from the ocean, these tough trees withstand constant pounding from water and wind storms. When a calmer summer arrives, Arbutus are denied water for extended lengths of time during these droughts. 

Big Arbutus and Douglas-fir, Roche Cove Park, Sooke
Click on photo for larger image.

You can use the map above to learn more about Arbutus. You can use the tree icons, or zoom in to view more detailed maps. Try using 'Street View' by pulling the little person icon (on the top left) down to the street you would like to view. It will give you a view of the street as if you are driving a car.

This is a very interesting, low carbon method to see some of the urban trees without leaving your own home. A good rainy day winter activity.


Do you have a favourite  Arbutus on Vancouver Island? Please leave a comment below letting us know where it is.