Butternuts are a tree it’s hard not get obsessed with. Their famously rare, tasty, creamy, buttery nut. A nut that I’ve still yet to try, but (annoyingly) consistently read and hear people raving about. Even the Vikings, who were the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean to North America, seemed to love it. Old ButternutContinue reading “Endangered Butternut trees naturalized in Vancouver?”
Author Archives: Ryan Regier
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 the sky of Vancouver is full of swirling and dancing cotton seeds. They fly in through open windows, up noses, and cover the ground like snow. The source of these mischievous, poofy snowflakes is the towering Black Cottonwood (Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa). It’s the tallest deciduous tree species in BC and maybeContinue reading “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.”
Blackberries, Bunnies, and Owls. An Urban Ecology Fantasyland in Vancouver’s Jericho Beach Park
Previously published as a twitter thread. There’s a surreal, magical natural area in Vancouver’s Jericho Beach that deserves a thread. Cute bunnies that hop up and eat from your hand. Tame owls that will allow you get almost close enough to touch. Delicious Blackberries everywhere. Straight out of Disney Fairy Tale. The rabbit population hasContinue reading “Blackberries, Bunnies, and Owls. An Urban Ecology Fantasyland in Vancouver’s Jericho Beach Park”
Suzanne’s Simard’s Finding the Mother Tree provides a spark to a potential plant intelligence revolution
Previously published by UBC’s student newspaper, The Ubyssey. Let me pitch you a science fiction story idea: A young government scientist, working for a government forestry department, discovers evidence that trees are intelligent and self-aware beings. Her work grabs the attention of the public and media, but is ridiculed by fellow scientists and the forestryContinue reading “Suzanne’s Simard’s Finding the Mother Tree provides a spark to a potential plant intelligence revolution”
The Great Catalpa Craze of the late 19th Century
This is a blog post copied from a twitter thread of mine. There is a wizened Catalpa in Vancouver’s Jericho Beach covered in “DO NOT CLIMB” signs. The tree was likely planted during the Catalpa Craze that swept North America in response to widespread fears of a “timber famine”. There’s a branch stump on theContinue reading “The Great Catalpa Craze of the late 19th Century”
The Perfect Invader – The European Sycamore Maple and Vancouver’s City Forests.
About a few weeks ago I removed a a small sapling of a European Sycamore Maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) from a forest near me in Jericho Beach, Vancouver. It’s considered an invasive, shade-tolerant tree in the park. In fact, a 2014 report on the park was stunned just how much the tree was dominating new growthContinue reading “The Perfect Invader – The European Sycamore Maple and Vancouver’s City Forests.”
It Doesn’t Make Sense Environmentally Or Economically, So Why Does Canada Continue To Cut Down Its Remaining Giant, Ancient Trees?
Trees are seen as the quintessential renewable resource. Cut one down, plant one, and it all evens out. But this isn’t exactly true. Consider the 1,000 year old giant trees that make up British Columbia’s Old Growth forests. Ontario used to to have trees like these, massive White Pines that were cut down to becomeContinue reading “It Doesn’t Make Sense Environmentally Or Economically, So Why Does Canada Continue To Cut Down Its Remaining Giant, Ancient Trees?”
Pandemic, Pine, and Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tree
Finding the “true meaning of Christmas” is something Hollywood wants you to think is more ethereal and challenging than it actually is. When I was young it was about presents and Jesus. Now that I’m older, I’ve realized the real value of the holiday winter break is simply because it is the only time ofContinue reading “Pandemic, Pine, and Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tree”
A Tree of Two Worlds- On the Novelty of Pine’s Shade Intolerance
Pine (Pinus spp.) trees fascinate me. Somewhere along their hundreds of million-year evolutionary history they decided to radically change their growth strategy away from their fellow coniferous, needle-leaf, trees. Pine trees instead adopted approach that was surprising similar to the new kids on the block, a new type of tree that was dramatically changing lifeContinue reading “A Tree of Two Worlds- On the Novelty of Pine’s Shade Intolerance”
The Death of the Street Tree: The Elms of Winnipeg and Guelph
It’s become a bit of a running joke among my friends how much I love the city of Winnipeg. To them its a frozen city in the middle of nowhere that’s the butt of a lot jokes, but to me – ever since I first arrived there on a freezing cold January morning to findContinue reading “The Death of the Street Tree: The Elms of Winnipeg and Guelph”
A Way of Happening 