See this CTV News video coverage of AFA staff and professional arborists at Bartlett Tree Experts who locate and climb the largest Sitka spruce tree in BC’s famed Carmanah Valley. (Coverage starts at 12:58.)
April 24, 2024
By Curtis Blandy
Victoria Buzz
See the original article here.
In recognition of Earth Month in April, a group of environmental conservation advocates decided they would showcase one of Vancouver Island’s largest old-growth giants by climbing and measuring it, and capturing drone footage of the process.
Members of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) sought out the Carmanah Valley’s largest Sitka spruce tree, which stretches approximately 21 storeys into the sky in an effort to highlight the importance of conserving and protecting old-growth forests.
According to the AFA, this Sitka in particular has a mammoth trunk, which forks into multiple stems, reminiscent of the multi-headed hydra of Greek mythology.
They noted that this tree is protected, as it grows within the Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park in Ditidaht territory.
“This giant is by far the most spectacular Sitka spruce tree that we’ve come across during our decades-long search for big trees in BC,” said TJ Watt, AFA campaigner and photographer.
“We had been big tree hunting in the valley for two days as part of my work as a National Geographic Explorer, when, just before dark, a massive crown caught our eye in the distance. Right away, we knew we had found something special.”
The tree is 12.9 feet (3.89 metres) wide near its base, 233 feet (71 metres) tall and has an average crown spread of 72 feet (22 metres).
BC’s Big Tree Registry marks this as the largest tree in the Carmanah Valley, despite the “Carmanah Giant” being taller, and the fourth-largest Sitka spruce on record in BC.
The AFA says that two blue whales laid end-to-end would still not be as tall as this tree which has been dubbed the “Hydra Spruce.”
“Most Sitkas are tall and straight like a Roman pillar, but this one had an enormous trunk that forked into five major stems, creating a sprawling canopy like the head of a hydra,” Watt explained.
“Near the base, it would have taken seven or eight of us to wrap our arms around the trunk. Seeing it from the ground was one thing, but we knew that to truly highlight the tree’s grandeur, we would need to climb to the top.”
To climb this giant, the AFA partnered with Bartlett Tree Experts, a group of professional arborists, who shot an enormous slingshot loaded with a line up unto the canopy.
They used ropes to climb so they would not damage the tree and were able to get to within a few metres of the top of the tree’s canopy.
“I’ve climbed thousands of trees in my life, but this one was like none other,” said Matthew Beatty, Arborist and Climber with Bartlett Tree Experts.
“Even within the Carmanah Valley, where we have climbed numerous trees for scientific research projects, this is a giant among giants.”
He continued by saying he hopes that the footage and images captured during this climb inspire people to protect and advocate for old-growth groves.
The BC government continues to develop and roll out its Old-Growth Strategy, which aims to protect 30% of BC’s ancient forests by 2030.
Through these protections being put in place, AFA continues to advocate for proper implementation that will ensure protection for sites that hold BC’s oldest, largest and most at-risk trees.
Watch the video of the climb below:
Spectacular drone footage and photos reveal climbers more than 20 stories in the air in the “hydra-like” canopy of an old-growth Sitka spruce, highlighting the incredible grandeur of old-growth forests in British Columbia during Earth Week.
Conservationists with the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) have located, climbed, and measured the largest spruce tree in the famed Carmanah Valley. The record-sized tree — whose mammoth trunk forks into multiple stems reminiscent of the multi-headed hydra of Greek mythology — grows protected within the Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park in Ditidaht territory on Vancouver Island. The tree was identified by AFA’s TJ Watt and Ian Thomas while exploring the valley in the spring of 2022 and climbed later in the fall with the help of professional arborists. The images and videos are being released for the first time today to celebrate Earth Week.
See an incredible video of the climb and the full photo gallery.
The towering tree measures 12.9 ft (3.89 m) wide near its base, 233 ft (71 m) tall, and has an average crown spread of 72 ft (22 m). According to the BC Big Tree Registry, this makes it the largest tree in the Carmanah Valley (despite the famed “Carmanah Giant” being taller), and the fourth-largest Sitka spruce on record in BC. Two blue whales laid end-to-end would still not equal the height of this immense tree, which is one of the largest living organisms on Earth. Its immense, multi-stemmed crown has garnered it the nickname the “Hydra Spruce.”
Climber Will Clayton of Bartlett Tree Experts begins his ascent up the towering trunk of the largest spruce tree in the Carmanah Valley in Ditidaht territory on Vancouver Island, BC.
“This giant is by far the most spectacular Sitka spruce tree that we’ve come across during our decades-long search for big trees in BC,” noted AFA campaigner and photographer TJ Watt. “We had been big tree hunting in the valley for two days as part of my work as a National Geographic Explorer, when, just before dark, a massive crown caught our eye in the distance. Right away, we knew we had found something special. Most Sitkas are tall and straight like a Roman pillar, but this one had an enormous trunk that forked into five major stems, creating a sprawling canopy like the head of a hydra. Near the base, it would have taken seven or eight of us to wrap our arms around the trunk. Seeing it from the ground was one thing, but we knew that to truly highlight the tree’s grandeur, we would need to climb to the top.”
AFA later teamed up with professional arborists from Bartlett Tree Experts to ascend, document, and measure the ancient tree. Using a 12-foot “Big Shot” slingshot, the team fired a line over a large branch high up into the canopy. Then, using low-impact techniques where climbers ascend the ropes themselves rather than the tree’s trunk, they could reach within a few meters of the top of the tree. Lowering down a giant tape measure, they calculated a height measurement of 233 feet or 71 meters tall — as tall as a 21-story building.
“I’ve climbed thousands of trees in my life, but this one was like none other,” said arborist and climber Matthew Beatty with Bartlett Tree Experts. “Even within the Carmanah Valley, where we have climbed numerous trees for scientific research projects, this is a giant among giants. The feeling of being within an ancient canopy is an immersive, humbling, and awe-inspiring experience. I hope that by highlighting the magnificence of these rainforest ecosystems, we inspire people about the need to protect those forests still at risk outside the park boundaries.”
Climber Finn Rowlands dangles among the massive canopy of the Hydra Spruce during golden hour. All five trunks visible in this image are part of the same tree.
The Carmanah Valley has long been famous as one of the most superlative old-growth Sitka spruce forests left in Canada. Beyond the Hydra Spruce, it is home to Canada’s tallest known tree, the Carmanah Giant, which towers 315 feet (96 metres) in the sky. The Carmanah Valley was the focus of intense conservation efforts in the early 1990s when it was imminently threatened by logging. Big-tree hunter and conservationist, the late Randy Stoltmann, was a particular champion of protecting this exceptional valley. After intense public pressure, the entire watershed was eventually protected as a provincial park alongside sections of the nearby Walbran Valley. The Carmanah is now celebrated as one of the most magnificent old-growth forests on Earth, with visitors coming from across the world to walk through its vast pillars of enormous trees.
Pioneering research in the canopies of tall trees in the Carmanah Valley in the early 1990s also revealed thousands of invertebrates living in the lush jungle of epiphytic ferns, mosses, and lichens. Many of these species were entirely new to science and are believed to only live in the crowns of old-growth trees and nowhere else on Earth. Other inhabitants of these unique “sky gardens” include wandering salamanders, which recent research suggests may “glide” from branch to branch like flying squirrels, and the endangered marbled murrelet. This tiny seabird nests on the mossy cushions found on the immense branches of old-growth trees.
“When we walk among trees at ground level, huge as they seem, we are often only seeing one third of the tree, which can extend hundreds of more feet into the air,” said Watt. “Climbing into the canopy of a giant old-growth tree is like entering a lost world seen by very few people. Their branches can be as big as regular-sized trees and are often adorned with suspended gardens, overflowing with mosses, ferns, lichens, and shrubs. In those moments, you realize the vast ecological value of even a single old-growth giant. They are worlds unto themselves, with creatures that might live their entire lives in the canopy without ever touching solid ground. These ancient giants are like huge, living apartment buildings that have grown over centuries, housing uncountable numbers of individual creatures and species. These trees are irreplaceable in our lifetimes. I hope the images and videos we’ve captured here inspire reverence and awe in those who see them and inspire people to engage and speak up for protecting old-growth forests across BC.”
Research has shown that in addition to their immense ecological value in providing habitat for wildlife, supporting biodiversity, maintaining clean water, sequestering carbon, and buffering against climate change, standing old-growth forests and protected areas provide greater economic benefits to communities in the longer term when compared to logging them. Factoring in ecotourism, recreation, non-timber forest products, carbon credits, and enhanced real estate values, among other industries, standing old-growth forests have been shown to provide greater economic benefits over time than the one-time economic benefits gained from cutting them down.
“Carmanah is a perfect example of what society gains when we set aside large areas for nature. Thirty years after it was saved from logging, Carmanah still has vast stands of the giant trees that have been decimated elsewhere in BC. It still harbours threatened species such as marbled murrelets and western screech owls, and, it’s still a place of hidden natural wonders, where we can seek out and document some of the largest and oldest living beings on Earth,” stated Watt. “Conservationists 30 years ago gave us this gift; without them, the valley and its skyscraper trees would be another stump field transitioning to an industrial tree farm. We must give that same gift — healthy ecosystems and protected old-growth forests — to future generations.”
Climber Matthew Beatty near the top of the tree, which measures 233 feet (71 m) tall – as tall as a 21-story building.
As the BC government develops its new Old-Growth Strategy as part of a larger mandate to expand protection to 30% of BC by 2030, it must commit to legally binding ecosystem-based protection targets. These must factor in “forest productivity distinctions” (differentiating between sites that grow large trees vs. sites that typically grow small trees in cold, rocky, or boggy sites) set by science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge committees. These critical distinctions are vital to ensure the most at-risk and least-protected ecosystems are prioritized — otherwise, protection will still be largely focused on alpine and subalpine areas with low to no timber values.
Old-growth forests have unique characteristics not found in the ensuing second-growth tree plantations that they are being replaced with. These forests are typically re-logged every 50 to 60 years on BC’s coast, never to become old-growth again. Old-growth forests support endangered species, the multi-billion dollar tourism industry, carbon storage, clean water, wild salmon, and First Nations cultures. Well over 90% of the high-productivity old-growth forests with the biggest trees and over 80% of the medium-productivity old-growth forests have been logged in BC.
This climbing project was part of AFA campaigner and photographer TJ Watt’s work as a National Geographic and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer, supported by the Trebek Initiative. This grant supports emerging Canadian explorers, scientists, photographers, geographers, and educators with the goal of using storytelling to ignite “a passion to preserve” in all Canadians. Watt was among the first round of recipients in 2021.
All tree climbing and drone filming was done with permission from local governments.
The Carmanah Valley
Catch Ancient Forest Alliance Photographer and Campaigner TJ Watt at the TEDxVictoria event on May 15th! Alongside 11 other diverse presenters, TJ will speak about his efforts to document and help protect endangered old-growth forests in BC.
To grab your tickets or learn more, visit: https://tedxvictoria.ca/
The goal of TEDxVictoria is to bring together local experts, community organizations, entrepreneurs, start-ups, established businesses, and passionate individuals to explore the ways in which the city has evolved and changed over the past decade. With a fresh perspective, this conference will discuss the many opportunities and challenges that have arisen and celebrate ingenuity, problem-solving, and forward-thinking in Victoria.
TEDxVictoria organizers said, “It’s up to us, all the change we want to see personally, globally, and local to Victoria. This year’s TEDxVictoria will bring our community together for inspiring conversations that help us understand, explore, and motivate change. Whatever that change looks like, here’s to ideas worth spreading.”
A graceful straight stem, curving elegantly at the top like a tiny streetlamp with beams of golden light spilling down — the fawn lily is such a picturesque beauty, that once seen, it will never be forgotten. On the BC coast, there are actually two species of fawn lily that match each other in elegance.
The pink fawn lily is a lover of damp forests, especially the rich soils of river floodplains — flourishing in the coastal rainforests of the west coast. First Nations people have traditionally enjoyed eating the bulbs of the pink fawn lily, digging them as the leaves first open in the spring (followed by water to prevent an upset stomach).
By contrast, the white fawn lily is found in drier, well-drained spots on the east side of Vancouver Island, brightening the Garry oak meadows and sunny glades in forests of Douglas-fir.
Fawn lilies are named for their dappled leaves, reminiscent of the spots on a baby deer (the stiff leaves themselves have been likened to the pricked ears of a listening fawn). It is appropriate that two of the most beautiful flowers on the coast are emblematic of two of the most magnificent and endangered ecosystems, the Garry oak meadows and the valley-bottom rainforest floodplains.
Be sure to try and catch a glimpse of their fleeting beauty in early spring. A great place to see white fawn lilies is the St. Mary’s Church & Cemetery in Metchosin, where thousands of these flowers blanket the ground in early April. Pink fawn lilies are commonly seen around the San Juan Spruce near Port Renfrew, among other spruce floodplain zones on the west coast.
We’d like to take the opportunity to extend a massive thank you to the following businesses for recently supporting the old-growth campaign.
Thank you to:
Living Forest Campground, who have been long-time supporters of AFA.
Emergent Tree Works and the Foundation of Mactaggart Third Fund for their generous gifts to the old-growth campaign.
Artist Nathan Hutchinson, who is donating 95% of sales from his art book, Evergreen, to support old-growth protection.
And local author Cathy Hussey for including AFA as a supporting resource in her new children’s book Doug, the Story of a Tree.
Your continued support makes our important work possible and we’re extremely grateful!
