Tuesday 27 May 2014

Stanley Park trees

This topic required a post of its own. They truly are amazing, these trees. With the temperate climate, and warm winters as well as the moisture, they are massive. Their rich, green mossy bark is a feast for the eyes. In the centre of the park is Hollow Tree. You can see me standing within the rotted trunk.
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We took a horse and wagon ride. We were taught about a Nursing Stump by our tour guide. This is a broken tree trunk which hosts a seeding. The seedling grows, throws roots overboard, and as the old trunk disintegrates, carries on.

On Dec. 15, 2006, they lost nearly 10,000 trees to a massive storm. This amounts to 5 - 10% of all trees in the park. The feds and provincial governments donated money, as did billionaire Jimmy Pattison. It took $9.5 million. There were 120 km/hr winds and pounding waves. It took a year to reopen the Stanley Park seawall, clearing debris.

The trees were chopped in half, set upright again, to minimize the damage. Finally, 18,000 new trees were planted to restore the park to some semblance of normal. The bonus has been these nursing stumps, which host new seedlings, as well as provide a home to birds.

Stanley Park - nursing stump from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

7 comments:

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Ohmigosh it is a truly beautiful park - and all those see views to match. You certainly made the most of your visit Jenn!! YAM xx

William Kendall said...

It's been that long since the storm?

I'd love to see that park for myself.

Judy said...

So many beautiful images of the park!! I love that sign they give you to leave in the car!! I have seen those nursing stumps, and never known what they were called. The seedlings sure look funny when the stump is worn away, and the seedling is left standing up in the air!!

Red said...

I remember the first time I saw those trees. for a little boy from Saskatchewan they were unbelievable.

Kay L. Davies said...

I love Stanley Park. I once worked nearby. I once lived on the North Shore and passed through the park twice a day on my way downtown to work, and I once lived within walking distance of Stanley Park, all at different times in the 1970s.
It was like a blow to my heart when that storm hit, but I am fine and so, once again, is the park.
Luv, K

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I remember hearing about nurse trees before... a nice series here ...lovely park isn't it!

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Well I learned something new today. I had never heard of the concept of a nurse tree before.