The Big Trees of Vancouver Island

Giant Sequoia in Victoria's Beacon Hill Park

Welcome to Vancouver Island Big Trees.

The best way to learn about trees is to hang out with trees. People that take time to see the trees will also take the time to save them. That is why I am sharing the following list of some of my favourite places to see big trees. 

Because I used to live in Sooke, BC, the list leans more toward south Vancouver Island locations, and trees that are easily accessed by car. 

Many of these trees are hundreds of years old - some well over 1000. You may feel little (and brief) standing in the presence of such size and antiquity. 

Click on highlighted titles to link to more information.

Do you have a favorite big tree location? Please share it in the comments below.

Goldstream Park near Victoria - Upper Goldstream River runs through old growth trees

Victoria Area

Native Tree Species

    1.    Francis/King Regional Park (some of the biggest trees closest to Victoria, including one on the B.C. Big Tree Registry - largest Douglas-fir in the CRD)
    2.    Beacon Hill Park (designated Heritage Tree Status)
    3.    Thetis Lake (Hiking trails link Thetis and Francis/King parks)

Adrmore's Th-Kuat Tree
1100 years old, 110 feet tall

    4.    Royal Roads/DND Lands (Urban big trees in Colwood, including the 2nd and 3rd largest Douglas-firs in the CRD)
    5.    Goldstream Park (very accessible old growth 16 km from downtown Victoria)
    6.    East Sooke Road/East Sooke Park (along East Sooke Rd. is one of the biggest Western red-cedars in the CRD)
   7.     Ardmore Golf Course (North Saanich - massive Douglas-firs up 1100 years old. This link is to the golf course web page - scroll to the bottom to read about their Th-Kuat Tree, a massive Douglas-fir guarding the third tee of the course.)
   8.    Witty's Lagoon Beach parking lot (Metchosin)
   9.    Royal Colwood Golf Club (has the most extensive collection of varied-age Douglas-fir and Garry oak forest in an urban setting)
10.    Victoria Area Arbutus (Arbutus are coast-hugging, broad-leafed, evergreen trees. They are abundant in parks and urban areas. The largest is found on Thetis, one of the Gulf Islands)


Non-native Tree Species

   1. Beacon Hill Park (Heritage Tree Site: many exotic trees such as Giant sequoia)
   2. Victoria Area (Urban Giant sequoia of huge proportions)

500 year old Douglas-fir on Royal Colwood Golf Course

Sooke Area

    1.    Sooke River Road/Galloping Goose Trail (scattered big trees)
    2.    Sooke Potholes Park  
    3.    Sunriver Park  (Phillips Road)
    3.    Matheson Lake Regional Park
    4.    Humpback Road (Langford)
    5.    Muir Creek (threatened by logging) - west of Sooke
    6.    Roche Cove Regional Park (the map in this post has directions to big Douglas-fir and Arbutus in a shore line area of this beautiful park)
    7.    Juan de Fuca Provincial Park - China Beach 
    8.   French Beach - nice, older second growth forest with lots of Sitka spruce
    9.   Chin Beach Trail Lone Cedar - grows on the Juan de Fuca Rural Resource Lands west of Sooke, 13 km past China Beach parking lot. 

Eagles need old growth trees for perching and nesting

Port Renfrew Area 

Avatar Grove

      
    1.    Avatar Grove (once threatened by logging, but now saved due to the efforts of Ancient Forest Alliance and big tree supporters)
    2.    Red Creek Fir (Champion tree - largest Douglas fir in Canada, not protected)
    3.    San Juan Bridge Spruce - (Champion tree - former largest volume Sitka Spruce in Canada until the top blew off, not protected)
    4. Juan de Fuca Provincial Park (smatterings of remnant old growth can be found in different areas of the park)

    5.    Loss Creek (has an old growth grove of Stika spruce)
    6.   Harris Creek Spruce (short walk off logging road, not protected)
    7.   Chester's Grove/Lens Creek Trail (huge Sitka spruce, Western redcedar, Western hemlock, and record-sized Black cottonwood, beside the San Juan river) 
  

Pacific Rim National Park

Other Areas

    1.    Carmanah/Walbran Provincial Park (Largest Sitka spruce: West Walbran Creek, Tallest Sitka spruce, Caramanah Creek) 
    2.    Pacific Rim National Park/West Coast Trail
    3.    Cathedral Grove (one of the most accessible stands of giant trees on the island)
    4.    Clayoquot Arm/Clayoquot Plateau Provincial Park
    5.    Clayoquot Arm Beach Forestry Site
    6.    Flores Island Provincial Park
    7.    Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park (Parksville) - contains towering old growth trees.
    8.    Cheewhat Cedar (Champion tree - largest tree in Canada, largest Western red cedar, protected within Pacific Rim National Park)
    9.    Koksilah River Provincial Park
   10.   Brooks Peninsula (this remote and mysterious area contains the largest diameter Sitka spruce in the world, plus a host of other potential record breakers, some protected areas)
   11.    South Vancouver Island is a good place to see Arbutus in a variety of coastal locations. 

Enjoy the trees. Then, save the trees.

Thanks for visiting the Vancouver Island Big Trees blog.

Canada's New Largest Sitka Spruce - The San Jo's Smiley Tree

After the San Juan Sitka Spruce near Port Renfrew lost its top in 2016 due to a lightning strike, it lost enough volume to be demoted from its previous status as Canada's largest sitka spruce.

So what is the largest Sitka spruce in the country now? 

According to BC's Big Tree Registry, the San Jo's Smiley tree found on northern Vancouver Island is now the largest sitka spruce in Canada.

The Smiley Sitka is measured at 4.36 meters in diameter, and 77.8 m tall. The girth of the tree, measured at a height of 1.30 m, is a whopping 13.69 m.

This is what bctreehunter21 on Instagram had to say about this special tree:

"San Jo's Smiley, an exceptional Sitka spruce near Vancouver Island's Cape Scott, exceeds all expectations. While the tree's diameter of 4.36 metres is very impressive, it's the entirety of its mass that is most significant. The lack of taper is unique, and even 20 metres up its 77 metre trunk, the width looks to be close to 2.50 metres!" 

It is, however, much harder to access than the San Juan Spruce. 

The Ancient Forest Alliance, in announcing and celebrating the new champ on September 27, 2023, says it is "located near the San Josef River outside of Holberg in Quatsino territory." 

While isolated in an area that few venture into, it is still well worth the trip, I am convinced. 

If you are on northern Vancouver Island in the Cape Scott region, and are feeling adventurous, definitely search out this amazing tree survivor.

These massive remnant trees are worth infinitely more standing than laying on the ground to be chopped and hacked and insulted by petty, temporary human desires. 

Cutting down trees that can live over a thousand years? When they are some of the last big trees of their type in the world?

How rude.

So it is incredible that trees, including the San Jo's Smiley Tree, still exist.

We are keeping it that way. BC and interested parties are ensuring that we are moving forward on big tree and forest protection.

That is great, because there are many more BC trees/forests worthy of protection that are currently at risk of being laid down.

The San Jo's Smiley tree, Canada's new largest Sitka Spruce, is one of the at risk trees.

It has no legal protection.

There Goes The Last Dodo

 

A big tree is not just a big tree. It is an entire neighbourhood. The human equivalent would be a residential skyscraper. 

Imagine if someone cut one of them down just because harvesting big buildings was profitable.

Where would the people that live there go? Or the people that work there?

When we see a big tree, or any tree, going down the highway on the back of a truck we should say,

"There goes the neighbourhood".

Each old growth tree is a community of millions of different organisms large and small.

Some can't live anywhere else.

Where are they to go?

A recent photo taken on Vancouver Island of a single, large sitka spruce trunk on a logging truck went viral. 

The large tree looks like it could be about 800 years old, give or take 200 years. 

Many people that saw the photo were shocked that we still do this kind of thing when so much of the ancient forest is gone. 

Over 90% of the oldest and best stands have already been logged in BC. It makes one think they will not be satisfied until they get as close to 100% of the big trees as possible. 

As soon as possible.

One day we will view decimating entire ancient forest communities that have thrived harmoniously for 10,000 years as barbaric and tragically old fashioned. 

We will look into how they got away with replacing the great mass of 10,000 year old forest with tree farms on 80 year rotations, with the big trees never to be seen again outside of small parks and areas they haven't ruthlessly exploited yet.

That day of reckoning may be coming sooner than they think if the reaction to the viral photo of that formerly beautiful spruce tree on the back of a logging truck is any indication.

It can't come soon enough for a great many, and growing, number of us.

Moving On

This is my new forest - the Acadian Forest of Nova Scotia.

The Vancouver Island Big Trees blog began as a way to share my experiences visiting some of the biggest trees around Victoria, Sooke and up West Coast Road to Port Renfrew and beyond. I wanted it to be both a celebration of the west coast's primal forests and trees, and a warning that if we don't start fighting for what is left, it will be gone forever.

Even before moving to the Pacific temperate rain forest for a decade, I visited from the prairies annually from the time I was old enough to drive. It was then that I fell in love with walking the beaches and forest trails of Vancouver Island. I found the trees to be huge and magical.

When I started this blog I lived in the midst of big tree country in the former logging town of Sooke, BC. Even after 20 years of exploring the big trees, I was still mystified how a human that would be lucky to get 100 years, could destroy a tree 1000s of years old.

Over this time I have been rewarded by ancient tree encounters that were life changing, as well as encounters with the ugly side of industrial liquidation and government neglect, that were equally as moving.

I have since moved to my new forest, and one that is perhaps not as tall, but every bit as magical - the Acadian forest of Nova Scotia. They are smaller, but there are big trees here, too. And the diversity of trees in this forest is an amazing thing that will keep me busy learning for years to come.

Nova Scotian forests are also under relentless assault from industrial, profit-minded businesses that don't care if they are destroying an entity that has been living and thriving since the last ice age. It is too bad, because in Canada this forest is every bit as unique as the great Western Rainforest of Vancouver Island.

This is not boreal forest (the largest intact forest left on our planet... for now). It is not the great deciduous forest of the southern USA. This forest is a unique blend of both, and I intend on exploring it every bit as much as I did the forest out west.

Having said that, I do like to keep up on what is happening in the west coast forest, and plan on doing the occasional post on this blog as well. In the meantime, I hike and photograph the Acadian Forest looking for the biggest of the big trees out here.

You can visit my new blog, "Acadian Forest Big Trees" here. I hope to add to it and develop the same following this blog has had since 2009. Thank you to everyone that has made keeping this blog so satisfying. Your interest, and visits, are appreciated.

Long live the big trees, wherever they may be.

Ahousaht First Nation Saving Their Big Trees on Vancouver Island

"Environmentalists are applauding a move by the Ahousaht First Nation to ban mining and clear cutting in favour of sustainable development and conservation.

Under the first phase of the plan, announced Thursday, there will be no mining or industrial logging in Ahousaht traditional territory and about 80 per cent of almost 171,000 hectares will be set aside as cultural and natural areas “to conserve biological diversity, natural landscapes and wilderness and to provide to Ahousaht continued spiritual, cultural and sustenance use.”

The remote Ahousaht First Nation, near Tofino, has more old growth forests in its traditional territory than any other First Nation on the B.C. South Coast.

Ahousaht Band leaders have decided it needs to be protected and they took steps to do just that this week to preserve those forests for the future.

Under the first phase of the plan, there will no mining or industrial logging allowed in Ahoushat traditional territory.

About 80 per cent of the territory , that’s more than 170,000 hectares, will be set aside as cultural and natural areas.

The goal is to conserve natural landscapes and biological diversity. The Ancient Forest Alliance says it’s the largest leap in old-growth conservation in the last two decades on Vancouver Island.

The Nature Conservancy is calling it a blueprint for a sustainable future. Environmentalists say only about 20 per cent of old-growth forests are still standing on Vancouver Island."

- source

Tree House Art Car Brings Bit of BC Forest to Burning Man

The tree house art car, built on Vancouver Island, will bring a bit of the forest
 to the Burning Man Festival in Nevada, USA.

How do you celebrate BC trees and forests while in the treeless, water-challenged Nevada desert, site of the Burning Man Festival? Bring a bit of the forest along with you by building a tree house art car, then invite the crowds in among the trees.

That is what a group of Vancouver Islanders are doing with their creatively converted old school bus.

"It's a nod to the BC forest," stated one of the participants working on the project.

Work in progress - the forest is growing.

Some nice BC wood was used on this tree house project, which is currently spreading the sweet smell of tree sap over the dusty flat lands of Burning Man.

Read the article in the Times Colonist here, or go to the tree house art car website to learn more about this creative conversion.

"People all have great memories of tree houses when they were little, whether they fell out and broke their arm, ate a mud pie, made out for the first time or read Playboys. And it’s a nod to the B.C. forest.” 

- Melanie Golder, tree house art car team

Rainbows and Clear Cuts

A recent open letter to the Vancouver Island community from the World Rainbow Family had something to say about the ongoing desecration and destruction of ancient forests on the north island.

In part, the letter stated:

"A main reason sounded for why we shouldn’t be able to gather on Raft Cove was the environmental impact on this place of significant natural beauty. What our family saw on our journeys around the North Island deeply shocked us, and we would like to share with the local community and the world the horrific level of deforestation of ancient and sacred trees occurring now on the North Island.  

 The Hopi prophecy that forms the ideology of our family is that a tribe, from all corners of the world, with multiple colours, will rise up from the midst of destruction and heal the earth. Given that we are a deeply environmentally conscious group, these environmental concerns were hard to comprehend. Historically, we have been involved in local environmental matters, such as the 1993 protection of the Clayoquot Sound forests."

Clear cuts are harmful to the forest, soil, water quality,
and animal life, but are profitable for corporations.

World's Largest Yellow Cedars Are On Vancouver Island

St. RandAlly, previous champion Yellow cedar

When it comes to the world's top six largest Yellow cedars, Vancouver Island is where it is at. Five of the top six are in British Columbia (the other is in the state of Washington). Of those five, at least three are on Vancouver Island.

The current largest commonly known specimen of Yellow cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) can be found near the small town of Sayward on the north west part of the island. It is in an area of big trees along Cooper Creek, and its name is Admiral Broeren.

The previous champion Yellow Cedar grew for many centuries close by to where today's champion stands. Shortly before the St. RandAlly recreational site was to open, the 2000 year old giant tree fell to the forest floor.

The tree was named after Randall Dayton and Ally Gibson, the forestry engineers that discovered the record breaker in 1993. It fell in 2004.

This fallen Yellow cedar boasted impressive measurements:

• Height 61m (200 ft), 
• Circumference 13.08m (42ft.11in), 
• Diameter 4.16m (13.7ft), 
• Crown Spread 16m (52.5ft), and 
• Stem Volume 175 cubic meters (6,200 cu. ft). 

Note: Champion trees in North America are determined with a point system used by the American Forestry Association that awards 1 point per inch of circumference at breast height, 1 point per foot in height, and 1 point for every 4 feet diameter of the live crown.

Sgt. RandAlly's score in AFA Points was 728.

Admiral Broeren, current world champion Yellow cedar, 
photo credit: Bud Logan, see more at gohiking.ca

Admiral Broeren, at 575 points, has more volume (188 cubic meters) than Sgt. RandAlly, but is smaller in height, crown and diameter.

The British Columbia Big Tree Registry lists a Yellow cedar with more AFA points (618) than Admiral Broeren. It is listed as a "recent addition", is not named and no location is recorded. I suspect it is on Vancouver Island somewhere, but at this time I can not confirm that.

The tree is recorded as having the following dimensions which would make it more impressive than Admiral Broeren, and the largest in the world:

• Height  46.40 m (152 ft) 
• Circumference 11.59 m (38 ft)
• Diameter 3.68 m (12 ft), 
• Crown Spread 12.2 m (40 ft), and 
• AFA points 618

Yellow cedar wood

Yellow Cedar Facts

• Yellow Cedar grows well in deep moist soils. 
• They usually grow as single trees, but may also occur  in small groves. 
• Can be found alongside western red cedar and western hemlock.
• Their beautiful, rot-resistant wood is highly valued. 
• Given optimum conditions, they can reach monumental proportions.
• Many Yellow Cedars are dying in the northern part of their range - global warming has been fingered as the culprit. 
• Chamaecyparis is derived from the Greek word for the ground cypress, an Old World shrub; nootkatensis refers to Nootka Sound on the west side of Vancouver Island where Yellow cedar was first identified by botanists.

Range of the Yellow cedar

These trees are common in old growth forests on Vancouver Island, but are rarer in the south island and east coast where it is too warm. In the southern part of their range they are found high in the hills where it is cooler, and where snow accumulates in winter.

Top Six Largest Known Yellow Cedars

(Chamaecyparis nootkatensis)

 Rank     Height            Diameter Volume Name and Location
               (m)  (feet)                                  m3 (ft3)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.            46.40 (152)  3.68 (12.0)        -                               Unnamed tree - unknown location in

British Columbia

2.            46.9 (154.0) 3.31 (10.9) 188 (6,650) Admiral Broeren - Memekay RiverValley,

Vancouver Island, BC

3.            61.0 (200.0) 4.16 (13.7) 175 (6,200) Sergeant RandAlly - Crown Land north

of Campbell River, Vancouver Island, BC. (tree fell in 2004)

4.            39.3 (129.0) 3.65 (12.0)         128 (4,530) Big Creek Cedar - Big Creek Trail near

Lake Quinalt, Olympic National Park, WA

5.            45.1 (148.0) 3.32 (10.9) 128 (4,520) General Buxton - Kelsey Bay, Crown

Land, TFL#39. Vancouver Island, BC

6.            39.6 (130.0) 2.28 (7.5) 103 (3,650) Cypress Park Cedar, Cypress Provincial

Park, Vancouver, BC

Stanley Park's National Geographic Tree

Stanley Park's National Geographic Tree 30 years before it fell in a 2007 wind storm.
Photo credit: Jim Wright

Today we are having gale force winds and driving rain on the coast that are making the big trees dance and shake. Such winds can be perilous for large trees, especially if their root area is saturated with rain.

It was the deadly combination of rain-soaked roots and wind that toppled Stanley Park's largest tree back in 2007. Dubbed "The National Geographic Tree" since the magazine visited the city of Vancouver to photograph the monumental Western red-cedar, the death was a blow to park and tree enthusiasts.

The National Geo Tree had its top missing, probably from a lightening strike

This magnificent tree was known to be the largest in Stanley Park, and many believed it was the largest in Canada. The cedar may have been the largest, oldest tree in the park, but it was not the largest or oldest in the country.

Let's see how Stanley Park's Nat. Geo Tree matches up to Vancouver Island's Cheewhat Cedar.

The National Geographic Tree (pre-2007) while it was still standing

In 1978 the Nat. Geo Tree was measured at 13.5 metres in circumference (45 feet), and was 40 metres (133 feet) in height. The tree was estimated to be about 1000 years old.

The Cheewhat Cedar - largest tree in Canada, and estimated to be 3000 years old

The Cheewhat Cedar on the other hand, is estimated to be about 3000 years old. It is 18.5 meters (61 feet) in circumference, and 192 feet tall, making it the largest tree in Canada.

National Geographic Tree on the ground after 2007 storm

In the 1970s photographers from National Geographic Magazine visited the Stanley Park icon for an article. The tree gained its name, and thousands of visitors as a result of the publicity. The tree had been a pilgrimage destination for nature lovers since the 1890s.

Roots of National Geo Tree

After the National Geographic Tree fell, it could be seen that the roots and part of the trunk had been infected with rot, a common condition often responsible for weakening trees that eventually fall to the ground.

The fallen Stanley Park monument will be left to rot in place, and still makes for an interesting visit to witness this stage in the life and death of an old growth tree. It could lay on the forest floor for hundreds of years before being entirely incorporated into the soil.

Stanley Park is in Vancouver, BC

The now horizontal Nat. Geo Tree can be found near the Hollow Tree. To view it, go to the Hollow Tree parking lot and cross the road to the Third Beach Trail. It is located a short distance down the trail.

Sooke Solstice Tree

We don't set up a tree indoors this time of year - there are plenty of beautiful trees just outside.

Our Solstice Tree does not need to be cut down and consumed, then thrown in the garbage or chipped. It does not need to be decorated, either.

Our tree has Old Man's Beard hanging lichen that looks just like green tinsel. The drops of morning dew hanging on the lichen and the needles are strings of little lights glinting brilliantly with the sun's rays.

The branches are adorned by chirping chickadees and brilliant crested kingfishers. Up top instead of an angel, a Great blue heron or two tops off our wildlife-trimmed tree.

Happy solstice!

Do visit Vancouver Island Big Trees in the new year, and together we will explore, and save, the old growth.

Fog In The Forest

Fog floating in to Sooke Harbour off the Strait of Juan de Fuca

South Vancouver Island has a Mediterranean climate, the mildest in Canada. Summer droughts are the norm, and true to form, we have not had appreciable precipitation since June. Except for fog.

The fog showed up early this year, and we have had many beautifully misty days under otherwise blue skies. The trees on the coast benefit from the moisture as they filter it out of the low clouds passing their needles.

When the needles can hold the precious drops no longer, the life-giving liquid falls to the ground below; shriveling roots sip and rejoice.

Why We Can't Save Our Last Old Growth

Logging? What logging?

It may be cynical, but I often wonder if anyone is actually paying attention to what is happening globally to our original forests, the likes of which we may never see again.

It is a fact that life is complicated, with many distractions. But let us look at the facts of what we are losing while being consumed by all our trivial things.

• Vancouver Island has lost over 75% of its productive old growth forests, including 90% of the valley bottoms where the biggest trees and richest biodiversity are found.
• continued old growth logging below 30% of intact forests creates a high probability of massive species loss 
• 99% of the old growth coastal Douglas-fir forest on Vancouver Island has been logged already 
• some of the biggest, tallest, and oldest trees on earth are still being logged in British Columbia

Governments and multinational logging companies are planning on taking 100% of our original forests. If we don't wake up and stop them, who will?

We Need To Harvest Trees

When a tree is milled every part of it is used except the smell

There is a saying that when a tree is milled that every part of it is used except the smell. That is good to know, because our trees are a necessary resource, and we should be making the most of every single one. But what good is the efficiency in the mills if our forests are being completely wasted at the same time?

Tree cutting is something that every tree-loving human must come to grips with. We need to harvest trees. Some scientists believe that civilization would have been impossible without the thousands of things produced with trees' wood, leaves, bark and roots. Trees are also a major source of energy around the world. Many homes on Vancouver Island are heated with wood stoves.

We need to harvest trees.

However, we do NOT need to harvest old growth trees, except in some circumstances where the unique properties of old wood are required, such as in instrument making. Careful selective old growth logging, that takes individual trees from forests in a sustainable way, would ensure this resource is around for future luthiers.

The wholesale clear cutting of original forests, wherever they are, is a very unwise practice. This is what is occurring in British Columbia, as has been the case for the past 150 years. It is not sustainable. When forests are cut on a 60 -80 year cycle, they never again reach the rich old age of old growth, which is at least 250 years old.

It is probable that industrial-scale logging of old growth, even that deemed sustainable, actually is not. Even the so-called 'sustainable forest management' practices can not sustain natural ecosystems. When you take the high value timber, you take the rest of the forest with it, and the ecosystem is damaged beyond repair.

BC's last remaining old growth should be made off-limits to logging immediately. Only 1% of the Coastal Douglas-fir forest on Vancouver Island remains in its original unlogged state. Even that small bit of forest is being hacked away at in a rush for the last of the big ones.

We need to harvest trees, but we do not need to harvest our last little bits of old growth. Unfortunately, our elected officials do not agree, and are in the process of selling off the last of the big trees until they are gone, and the ecological integrity of the primeval forest has been lost forever.

Then what?

AFA Big Tree Tours

AFA guided hike, Avatar Grove, TJ Watt photo

 

I started VIBT in 2009 in order to celebrate the big trees I have come to love since my first visit to the island 33 years ago. A major goal for me is to have people experience these trees for themselves, in the hopes that they will become advocates for preservation of British Columbia's remaining old growth.

But not everyone is comfortable with grabbing a map and a set of directions and heading out onto logging roads that are sometimes far from civilization, and trying to hunt down the elusive 'Big One'.

There is another way to get to, and enjoy, the big trees, and that is as part of a guided tour.

Thankfully, there are organizations dedicated to educating the public about the beauty and importance of old growth trees and forests in the hopes of creating much needed forest defenders.

On Vancouver Island, Ancient Forest Alliance is working to "protect the endangered old-growth forests of British Columbia and ensure sustainable forestry jobs in the province". 

The group gives guided tours to various big tree destinations, the most recent being a fund-raising tour of Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew. 

Check their website for more information on upcoming hikes.

See them - save them.

Garry Oak Saved On Sooke Waterfront

This Garry Oak at Mariner's Village will be saved
 to form a centerpiece of the development

Since the two magnificent Douglas-fir trees in central Sooke were unceremoniously laid low hundreds of years before their time, I have been looking at a different tree-scape from my home across Sooke Harbour.

One of the trees that has been making its presence known is equal in stature to the firs cut only two blocks away. The tree is a magnificent Garry Oak (Quercus garryana) in the Mariner's Village waterfront development.

The grandparent oak is a dominant feature on the property, easily competing with the the new 4 and 6-story structures next to it. It is multi-trunked so it could be that a small, tightly packed grove of trees has cooperated to form one large canopy.

Not only is the tree at least 60 feet in height, but its massive canopy is wider than the tree is tall. From my vantage point at home the oak, when fully leafed out, hides a good part of the phase 1 buildings behind its crinkly-lobed, dark green canopy.

Garry Oak ecosystems are a threatened habitat on Vancouver Island, and these beautiful trees are not common as far west as Sooke. Garry oaks can live up to 500 years, and the one in question is decades old.

Mariner's Village has only just completed the first phase of the development, so I wondered if Sooke was going to lose another of its significant heritage trees as the project progressed.

The large Garry oak from across Sooke Harbour

I contacted Jason van der Valk of Mariner's Village to see if there was a chance that the oak would be saved. His response was more than I could hope for, and quite a surprise. Good news stories concerning development and heritage trees in Sooke are rare.

"From the very beginning with the creation of the rendering, blueprints and concepts, the large Garry Oak Tree has always been forefront, and was the hub of the starting point for the development. Everything will be centered around that."

Jason also explained that the development team has contacted professionals for advice on how to proceed in a way that will not impact the health of the tree as the next phases are built. Garry oaks are notoriously sensitive to surrounding development, and often do not live.

The developers of Mariner's Village are uncharacteristically planning for this tree's survival, and would like to see it thrive for years to come for the enjoyment of of all.

VIBT salutes the tree-friendly approach being taken in this project, and we hope that this heritage Garry oak survives to become a central feature of the new development.

Strong Winds Topple Trees

80 year old Islander clearing his driveway after Monday's wind storm, photo:TimesColonist

Vancouver Island's big trees have few threats as potentially life-ending as a wicked winter wind, and Monday's maelstrom proved to be the end for many. Tall trees shallowly rooted are constantly in danger from a stiff breeze, but are especially vulnerable in strong winds such as in Monday's storm.

During southeast winds the inside coast of Vancouver Island, including Victoria, gets hit the hardest. The highest winds were recorded across the Strait of Georgia along the Sunshine Coast at 187 km per hour. Powell River logged top gusts of up to 111 km per hour, and Victoria around 95 km.

Over 100,000 homes lost power in the storm, and most of those outages were caused by trees falling on power lines. As a matter of fact, most of the problems associated with the storm were tree-related with big conifers falling on power lines, roads, houses and vehicles.

Truck crushed by wind-tossed big tree, photo: TimesColonist

Three men driving on Ardmore Drive near Victoria Monday morning were prevented from proceeding by a large tree across the road. After getting out of their truck to survey the area, a second tree fell and crushed their vehicle.

Tree: 1, Van: 0, photo: CTV

Monday's storm reminded many of the whopper winds that occurred on December 15th, 2006. That storm was one of the worst since the 1960s, and knocked down about 41 acres of trees in Vancouver's Stanley Park, as well as thousands of trees along Vancouver Island's West Coast Trail.

The difference between the two storms was that the 2006 storm was out of the west rather than a southeaster like Monday. Sooke was hard hit in 2006s west gales, but was little affected by the southeaster Monday. Because of that, the power stayed on, and I have not seen any trees down in the area.

However, any time the wind blows, I tend to be aware of the trees swaying around me.

Saving An Ancient Crofton Arbutus

Can this ancient Crofton Arbutus get some much-deserved lovin'?

I always answer emails regarding VIBT with hope, anticipating information and photos of big trees around Vancouver Island. I was not disappointed when I opened an email sent by a tree enthusiast from Crofton, 75km (45 miles) up the east coast from Victoria.

Inside was a message from Charronne, who expressed concern for the well being of this massive, ancient Arbutus (Arbutus menziesii) growing on the coast by the Crofton ferry terminal. Along with the information were several photos highlighting the beauty of this imperilled tree literally living on the edge.

Beautiful branching pattern

How long has this unique tree battled the ocean in this exposed location? How much longer can it hang in there? And how can it be protected from the pavement and development that now surrounds it?

Hoping that we may elicit a response from the tree community, Charronne agreed to letting me share the email, as well as the attached photos of this amazing Vancouver Island big tree.

"I am writing from Crofton.

There is a massive arbutus tree by the waterfront here. Unlike the usual bent and twisted trunks, this old tree looks more like an oak or maple tree that might be found on some of the great British estates. 

I have never seen an arbutus with such thick trunk and compact form. It is possible that the 2 trunks might have been separate trees at one point, and have since grown together, or it could have been one that split when it was young. Even the bark is a little different in appearance from the average.

It would be wonderful to find someone who could estimate an age for this tree.

I also frequently wonder if this is what all arbutus trees may have looked like before logging changed the forest growth patterns.

My immediate concern is that it hangs at the edge of the embankment to the waterfront by the boat launch and ferry terminal in Crofton, with roots now protruding into the air on one side. Heavy rains, and storm surges at high tide, could in a few years undercut the tree and topple it. People picking at the bark doesn't help either."

Arbutus trees only live in the Coastal Douglas-fir zone, the smallest of 14 eco-zones in BC. They are found in low elevations along southeastern Vancouver Island, from Bowser to the Victoria area, the Gulf Islands south of Cortes Island, and a narrow strip along the Sunshine Coast near Halfmoon Bay. Like the Crofton Arbutus shown here, all Arbutus are in danger.

Arbutus are delicately rooted trees that do not endure disturbance well. In addition to development, Arbutus are endangered by fire protection strategies (usually fire keeps Douglas-fir from taking over the rocky, coastal exposures where Arbutus like to grow), and attack by fungi (Arbutus is host to more than 21 varieties of fungi, and usually larger, older trees are most susceptible to infection).

If you are able to help age the Crofton Arbutus (they can live up to 500 years), or if you have any information that would help protect this beautiful heritage tree, please contact us (info on the side bar).

Tree enthusiasts everywhere would be grateful. Thanks to Charronne for bringing this beautiful tree to our attention, and for the great photographs.

I need your help!

Big Leaf Maple Comes By Name Honestly

Large Big leaf maple, San Juan Bridge Forestry Service Campground

The largest known Big leaf maple in the province of BC grows on the lower mainland in Vancouver's city-center Stanley Park. The big-leafed big tree is 10.70 m/35 ft in circumference, 29 m/95 ft in height, with a crown spread of 19.5 m/64 ft, and 533 AFA points. Stanley Park has champion maples galore with 5 more on the list of BC's 10 largest Big leaf maples.

That's not to say that Vancouver Island doesn't have some large maples of its own, like the epiphyte-draped tree shown above. This tree is in the same area as the more famous San Juan Spruce, the largest spruce tree in Canada. The Big leaf maple is a short distance away, dominating the center of the campground, and looking like something out of a Tolkien tale.

Big leaf maple leaves/seeds

The Big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), is the largest maple in Canada, and the largest deciduous tree in the coastal forest. This tree lives up to its name and produces giant leaves as large as a medium pizza.

A favourite fall activity on the coast is getting out into the forest to see who can collect the largest leaf. Not surprisingly, the winner is usually found in Vancouver.

The largest maple leaf currently on record measured 53 cm (20.86 in) wide and 52.2 cm (20.55 in) long and was discovered by Vikas Tanwar and family in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, on 14 December 2010. 

Big Leaf Maple Facts

• grows up to 40 m tall, with leaves possibly up to 60 cm wide
• in forest has narrow crown with single branch free trunk and small narrow crown
• in open trunk branches low down into many branch trunks growing into a large crown
• restricted to southwest corner of BC low to mid-elevations
• like gravely moist soil as beside rivers and lakes
• grows in mixed forests
• older trees are draped in mosses, ferns and lichens because the bark is rich in nutrients and moisture
• the tree will extend roots up from the branches into the gathering moist material resting on them
• older trees are notorious for dropping large limbs

Ravens - Rainforest Roosters

Ravens are rain forest roosters

Here in the northern hemisphere we are just about through the darkest days of the year. In less than 2 weeks we will celebrate winter solstice, the darkest day of them all. These are magical times, and humans are not the only ones to notice.

I live in a semi-rural part of a small south Vancouver Island coastal village of 10,000. Here, among the fog-cloaked tall trees, people have not yet taken over. Our town is shared with harbour seals, orcas, black bears, cougars, bald eagles, and big, black ravens.

Out here, on the far western edge of the continent, you can experience the folly of feeling like an all-powerful, highly evolved ape. In comparison to the vastness of the stormy sea on one side, and the impenetrable, deeply green, mossy forest on the other, the affairs of humans are mere scurryings of ants, and the watchful ravens reside over it all.

Over the past few long nights the ravens have been orchestrating the elements from their lofty laboratories in the tree tops within earshot of my bedroom window. Dressed in their black cloaks, these early risers are the mysterious roosters of the rain forest.

Each morning for the past couple of weeks I have been woken by the raven's guttural and commanding call. I hear it as an invitation to stand up and face the magic of the rising sun, and new day.

A day that will soon be a little more magical, and a little more sunny than the one before.