PSPS Blog
Welcome to the PSPS Blog, your go-to source for stories, insights, and updates from Pacific Spirit Park Society. Here, we delve into the heart of Pacific Spirit Regional Park, exploring its rich ecosystems, sharing the latest on our conservation efforts, and highlighting the incredible work of our community of volunteers and partners. Whether you’re passionate about environmental stewardship, curious about local wildlife, or simply love spending time in nature, the PSPS Blog offers a window into the vibrant life of the park. Join us as we share knowledge, celebrate successes, and connect with the natural world around us.
Library Fill Hill – Can a Giant Pile of Dirt near Camosun Bog Become a Native Forest Again?
Imagine walking into your favorite local forest one day only to discover that it was now just a massive pile of dirt. Thanks to a nearby construction spot, an incredible amount of dirt had been dumped: Ten feet high and taking up the area of a soccer field. Trees...
Those Fluffy White Seeds that cover Vancouver every late spring? Unlocking the secrets behind them could be a very powerful tool in fighting climate change.
Republishing an old blog post of mine from 2021 that's very relevant in late May and early June. Those Fluffy White Seeds that cover Vancouver every late spring? Unlocking the secrets behind them could be a very powerful tool in fighting climate change. Every late May...
A Forgotten ‘Miracle Drug’ – A brief history of the Cascara Tree in British Columbia
About a month ago I was browsing the shelves of Woodward Library - UBC’s Science and Forestry Library – and stumbled across a book published in 1942 that sent me down a research rabbit hole about a native common tree in Pacific Spirit Park. The book in question,...
Racism, Shingles, and Honey – The Complicated Modern History of Hollow Western Redcedar Trees
Stanley Park’s giant Hollow Tree used to be a world-famous landmark. Tourists and locals engaged in increasingly ridiculous behaviors of seeing just how much could fit inside of it. Many tourists and locals had a photo of them inside the tree…while inside a car. In a...
Unravelling the mystery of the Douglas Fir Sugar Craze in the 1920s
In February 1920 the American Forestry Magazine ran the all-capital headline “DISCOVERY OF SUGAR ON DOUGLAS FIR”. The opening paragraphs of the article is worth reading for the pulsing excitement: Long before the first white man came to North America with his luxuries...
Rethinking our human-focused approach reveals Ancient Trees much older then we think in Pacific Spirit Park
What is the oldest tree in Pacific Spirit Park (PSP)? We don’t know exact ages, but if you are looking for old trees, especially big old trees, you would find them on the cliff slope forests of Wreck Beach or in the Ecological Reserve along Sword Fern trail. The...
Pacific Yew Tree: A Fantasy Tree Turned Real
Let’s imagine a Tree from a Fantasy Novel written by an author like Ursula Le Guin or J.R.R. Tolkien. A Tree of legend and lore which characters regard with awe. The “Death Tree” let’s call it. The bark, wood, and leaves of this Tree cause a very painful death. It is...
The Magic of Maples
Vancouver is the land of the giant evergreen tree. Our Douglas-firs, Hemlocks, and Cedars. They dominate our forest, towering over and casting such a deep shade that few plants can grow below. There is really only one deciduous tree species that can compete. This is...