Green Timbers Arboretum and Nursery
History of the Nursery
The 1700-mile (2735-km) Pacific Highway (#101 in the US and #15 in BC) stretched from San Diego, California, to Surrey, British Columbia. By the 1920s, Green Timbers was the last virgin forest along the route and had become a famous tourist attraction. People came from far and wide to see the 5000 acres of giant trees, some reaching more than 200 feet in height.
By the 1870s, lumber mills were quickly consuming what seemed to be an endless supply and by the late 1920s, virtually every giant tree had been cut down. Dignitaries were even on hand to celebrate the felling of that last great tree. A wave of public protest resulted in 266 hectares being set aside for a major nursery and forest education centre.
In 1927, a small experimental nursery had been established north of Victoria, the provincial capital located on Vancouver Island. On March 15, 1930, the first seedlings of Douglas fir and Sitka spruce were transplanted from Victoria to the Green Timbers site. On that day, politicians, foresters, and conservationists planted 121 of those trees. Later, non-native trees were added. For much of the 1930s, Green Timbers was the only nursery in the province and, during its peak, produced 3.5 million seedlings every year.
Green Timbers survived the depression-era economics that stalled many reforestration projects. When work was finished in 1937, more than 350,000 trees were growing in the forest to replace those that had been harvested. The progress of all trees planted has been carefully monitored for growth and for the effect of diseases and pests. This information is vital to increase the survival and growth of seedlings planted throughout the province.
In 1946, the first technical forestry school opened at Green Timbers, offering an intensive nine-month course in forest management techniques. This school continued for thirty-four years until other schools assumed the teaching.
In 1988, Surrey residents voted in favour of dedicating 310 acres (182 hectares) of the area to be left as an urban forest for everyone's enjoyment. On September 9, 1989, the two billionth tree in British Columbia's reforestation program was planted by Premier William Vander Zalm. In 1990, the New Commemorative Forest was established to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the original planting. A Millennium Event on September 16th, 2000, marked the seventieth year of the inaugural plantation of Green Timbers and the tenth anniversary of the Commemorative planting.
In 1994 and again in 1995, a private member's bill was presented in the provincial legislature. Bill M 206 advocated that Green Timbers Urban Forest, including the nursery and arboretum, be designated a provincial heritage site.
The Arboretum
By definition, an arboretum is a collection of shrubs and trees grown for educational purposes and was a unique feature of the Green Timbers Nursery, which officially closed in January, 1999. Established in 1930, the Green Timbers Arboretum now contains approximately 140 species of trees on about 0.8 hectares of land. Some of the trees were imported for study purposes while others were donated by agencies as well as by private donors, some from as far away as Scandinavia.
The arboretum collection contains some unusual trees, including the Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood). This is a primitive form of tree thought to be extinct until a small grove was discovered in Manchuria in the late 1800s. Originally thought to be a sequoia (redwood), the Dawn Redwood proved to be different since it loses its needles in the fall.
Another unusual tree is the Ginkgo Biloba (Maidenhair tree), cultivated for centuries in the temple gardens of China and Japan. The tree was reportedly introduced to North America in the late 1700s. It is well known to herbalists for its memory enhancing qualities. The ginkgo tree does not appear to have any natural fungal or insect enemies and has been considered resistant to smoke and drought – likely another reason it has survived for the estimated 200 million years.
These are but two of the very rare trees in the Arboretum. During the last decade, provincial governments have cut funding to such an extent that the once thriving Forestry Division will cease to exist in Green Timbers as of 2005. The Arboretum has never been open to the public, but that may change since the Green Timbers Heritage Society will be assuming responsibility of the area. Plans are also in progress for the divisional headquarters of the RCMP to be built in the Green Timbers forested area just north of the Arboretum alotment.
We would like to thank Wady Lehmann, President of the Green Timbers Heritage Society; Tony Willingdon, of the B. C. Ministry of Forests; Bela Sivak, who worked on the original classifying of the trees; and Don Summers, of the Tree Improvement Branch, Ministry of Forests. They all supported and helped us in some way. Information was obtained from booklets and posted material at the site.
Green Timbers Heritage Society
Since Duane and Pam are members of the board of directors of the Green Timbers Heritage Society, we are taking this opportunity to advise readers of recent events. As of April 17, 2005, the Arboretum and Nursery area has been turned over to the city of Surrey from the province. The city, in turn, turned the area over to the Society for safe-keeping. One of the Heritage buildings on the site was also dedicated to the Society. This will be their official headquarters and from where they will once again host an eco-educational program that once took place in the Arboretum for elementary school students. Because of the expense of refurbishing the buildings and upgrading the area to accommodate students, the Society is always in need of funds AND/OR donations of such functioning materials as folding chairs, outdoor benches, filing cabinets, media equipment, desks, teaching tools, and others! Please contact us or the Heritage Society if you can donate to a very worthwhile cause
Green Timbers Award
(The following was taken from the Green Timbers Award page This site is hosted by Pacific Regeneration Technologies Inc. (PRT), which consists of a network of nurseries located in Canada and the United States.)
“The inception of the "GREEN TIMBERS AWARD" developed from two central issues. The first was to provide a means by which the Forest Nursery community could recognize the history and major contributions of an individual or organization to reforestation in British Columbia, Canada. The second stems from a desire to keep the Green Timbers name alive.
Green Timbers Nursery was closed in January 1999. It was the oldest operational nursery in BC, established in 1930 as a commitment by the government to have a bonafide seedling planting program. Green Timbers is a heritage site housing some of the original buildings, including the original Forest Ranger Training School. In addition it is home to the first plantation in BC, an arboretum and commemorative plantings for the one and two billionth seedlings planted in BC. It is appropriate to use the Green Timbers name as a reflection of the intent of this award.
This year [2004], on September 20, Mr. Jim Kinghorn and Mr. Ev van Eerden together received the "Green Timbers Award," for their outstanding contributions to forest regeneration excellence in British Columbia.”
Flora
See the Coniferous Trees
See the Deciduous Trees
Fauna
The fauna have not been classified.
