Category Archives: outreach and news

10/17/14

Randy Stoltmann: Father of the BC Big Tree Registry

Unlike many projects of this nature, the BC Big Tree Registry didn’t begin with a committee or organization, it began with one remarkable individual. Randy Stoltman compiled his first list of big trees in 1980 at the age of 18. An adventurous kid that loved the outdoors, Randy grew up playing in the forests on the north shore of Vancouver. His first list was a record of all the big trees in Stanley Park (the 1001 acre public park that borders downtown Vancouver) which he gave to the Vancouver Parks board. From then on Randy dedicated himself to conservation and public outreach, volunteering with the Western Canada Wilderness Committee to prevent old growth logging and building trails and signage to allow for people to get out into the wild and connect with nature.

The big tree godfather himself.

The big tree godfather himself.

On of the registry monsters.

One of the registry monsters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From its humble beginnings in the hands of a nature-loving 18 year old, the formal registry was established in 1986 by the B.C. Forestry Association, which became Forest Education B.C. and most recently FORED BC. Sadly, in May 1994, Randy lost his life while ski touring in the Kitilope area. After his death, FORED BC stopped maintaining the registry and much of the original files, maps, and photographs went missing. Fortunately, shortly before he passed, Randy copied most of the registry records into a report for the B.C. Conservation Data Centre (CDC). After swapping hands a couple more times, in the fall of 2010 the BC Big Tree Registry found its home in the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia.

02/28/14

The Nature of Things visits the Aitken lab

Seeing people at work creates a deeper understanding than just seeing the final product. And more heartfelt appreciation, too. A CBC crew from “the Nature of Things” visited our lab to report on our current research: we use genomic information about tree adaptation to climate to  predict effects of climate change on tree growth and suggest mitigation policies. Countless e-mails flew back and forth about the timing and practical details. And then, the Big Day arrived: February 8. Skies were blue and excitement hung in the air.

The team (most of it…) – with Jennifer Gardy, sound technician Keith Henderson, and cinematographer Michael Sweeney.

While Sally Aitken was answering Jennifer Gardy’s questions in the idyllic (but freezing cold) setting of the forest in Pacific Spirit park, her lab crew waited, and waited. But, hey, we were indoors, so no complaining! Meanwhile, in the forest, the log on which the ladies were sitting began to defrost and… well, you can imagine. I have no idea how they managed to stop shivering for each take, on demand!

Jennifer Gardy and Sally in Pacific Spirit Park

Around 3 pm, the film crew had enough footage in the forest, and came to the Forest Sciences Centre.

Welcome to the Forest Sciences Centre

Director Liam O’Rinn and the crew chatted with various lab members to figure out interesting angles, stories and tidbits, and a  good setting.

Several takes were needed. Sometimes, speakers stumble over a word, or something unexpected happens in the background. We couldn’t close down the lab fume hood without setting off the alarm. The resulting white noise will need to be edited out at a later stage. These are just a few of many details complicating the real life of a film crew.

If you ever wondered how many hours of filming on site it took to end up with a seven minute movie, the answer was: ten hours. Patience is a virtue. Often underappreciated these days. The crew possessed it aplenty. Perhaps, if they think about us making bud break observations on small seedlings day after day after day, they are similarly intrigued by our persistence? I can’t wait to see the end result, which will be airing sometime in the fall. We will keep you posted on the final date, of course!

Joane may not be on the final cut, but used the time to get her wood cores mounted for analysis…

Tongli’s maps and models are central to what we do, but may not make the final film cut…

 

Robin didn’t get any camera time, but his cute little lodgepole pines were stars of the show…

 

Ian and Tongli managed to make progress on statistical analyses while waiting for the filming to get going.

 

 

02/13/14

Sally makes the news

Sally our dear PI was giving a talk at the Canadian Parliament at the end of January, to warn politicians about the impacts of climate change on temperate and boreal forests, and to explain how genomic methods implemented in the Adaptree project might help mitigating these impacts.

Here is a news article in the Canadian Geographic about this event. There is another one in the Ottawa Citizen.
The title of this last one is slightly misleading though…. There won’t be “new” genes in the forests! Just genes already present in the species’gene pool but that need a bit of a push to end up at the right place in the right time to be optimally fit.

Sally emphasized to policy makers that even if our work will help forests adapting and reduce negative outcomes of climate change, the priority should be to slow down the rate of climate change by reducing carbon and greenhouse gases emissions.

Well done Sally!