A nod to B.C.’s forest heritage: Ceremonial tree planted at Green Timbers Urban Forest Park

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At Green Timbers Urban Forest Park in the heart of Surrey, a ceremonial Douglas-fir tree sapling was planted in April, marking the 10-billionth tree planted on behalf of the province’s Ministry of Forests since 1930 when reforestation programs were first initiated. 

B.C. Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston attended the event, and says the tree sapling symbolizes all the trees that came before it. 

“Planting a tree is an individual process,” Ralston says. “Every tree [needs] two pairs of hands and carefully wielded shovels, and so it’s a step forward to … reforestation.” 

He also says that before reforestation programs began, 5,000 acres of forest were clearcut leading up to 1930 in the same area where Green Timbers resides today.

A public campaign initiated the inaugural plantation, Ralston says.  

Since 2017, two billion saplings have been planted across B.C., 305 million of which were within the last year. Ralston says 500 million were planted following forest fires and that reforestation has an important role in climate resilience. 

The Douglas-fir species is one of Canada’s most-valued trees, and it once dominated the old-growth forests of western B.C., where the current consequences of clear-cutting practices are significant.

In the following years of reforestation milestones, celebrations, including the recent sapling planting, returned to Surrey and have been memorialized. 

“There’s a plaque from 1989 [when] then-Premier Vander Zalm planted the three-billionth tree,” Ralston says. “So [Green Timbers Park is] an important part of our forest heritage.” 

The ceremonial planting also marks the one-billionth tree planted for the Ministry of Forests’ BC Timber Sales (BCTS), an organization founded in 2003 that issues planting contracts and distributes seedlings for the reforestation of Crown lands.

This year, 290 million seedlings are expected to be planted, 235 million of which will be done through forestry companies, and another five million by First Nations, according to a provincial government news release. 

Those who are allowed to harvest trees in the province are also legally abided to replant the trees once they’re finished, Ralston says, adding that this process is monitored by the Ministry of Forests. 

Ralston hopes the event will inspire people to encourage tree-planting efforts in the future. 

“I think generally people, particularly in urban areas, are maybe not as aware of the vast reforestation efforts that are undertaken by the province,” Ralston says. “Companies that log are obliged, they have the statutory obligation to replant …. It all adds up. We’ve got to 10 billion and we’re going to keep on going.” 

There are also public-run groups and organizations working towards this shared goal, including the Capitol Hill Tree Keepers, a neighbourhood stewardship group for the Capitol Hill Conservation Area in north Burnaby. They are focused on preserving and maintaining the second-growth forest through tree planting, as well as invasive species removal.

“I think there’s a narrow focus on trees as a primary goal of restoration and stewardship that obscures a lot of what [restoration] work actually entails and what is best for specific environments and ecosystems” says Erica Mulder, a board member for Capitol Hill Tree Keepers.

Considering the effects of climate change is essential when looking toward future initiatives, she says. 

“Long-term planning, acknowledging the fact that climate change is already happening, … means choosing species [to replant] for the increased drought conditions and such that will come along [with it.]”

In terms of replanting trees specifically, the group believes in considering a timeline beyond our lifespan so future generations can experience nature as it should be, a process neighbourhood stewardship groups are key in. 

“It’s the people who are around, and the people who are connected and care about [the land], that are well equipped to do restoration work and should be put in positions where they can do that,” Mulder says. 

She hopes neighbourhood stewardship groups receive more support in ways that will help ease the financial burden with buying tools or consulting experts. 

“If you cut down a 600-year-old tree, you need to have a plan for 600 years.”