big trees

Image of Giant Old-Growth Cedar Receives Award in Earth Photo 2024 Contest

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The awarded image, Flores Island Cedar, features an enormous redcedar tree I found – perhaps the most impressive tree in Canada – with Tyson Atleo, an Indigenous Hereditary Representative of the local Ahousaht people, standing at the base of the tree, providing a sense of scale.

I’m thrilled and honoured to have received an award in Earth Photo 2024, an international photography contest currently on display at the Royal Geographical Society in London, UK. My image, titled Flores Island Cedar, features a gargantuan redcedar tree – perhaps the most impressive tree in Canada – with friend Tyson Atleo, a Hereditary Representative of the local Ahousaht people, standing next to the tree’s base, providing a sense of scale.

The contest, which saw over 1900 entries from around the world and 11 award winners, celebrates photography and moving images that tell compelling stories about our planet, its inhabitants, its beauty, resilience and fragility. The winning images have attracted international attention, with high-profile features in The Guardian & CNN and locally in the Times Colonist.

Amazingly, the award announcement happened within 24 hours of the biggest old-growth protected areas victory in decades when, earlier last week, the leadership of the Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, and BC NDP government declared the protection of 76,000 hectares of land in new conservancies in Clayoquot Sound near Tofino, BC. Most of the lands committed for protection are comprised of some of the grandest and most intact coastal old-growth temperate rainforests on Earth, including this ancient tree.

It’s not always the case that the forests featured in my photographs have a happy ending. But in this case, I’m so grateful that they do. The tree pictured is the largest one I’ve ever found in nearly 20 years of searching for big trees in BC. It’s more than 17 ft (5 m) wide near its base, 151 ft (46 m) tall, & likely well over a thousand years old, given its size.

I extend my deepest gratitude to the Ahousaht & Tla-o-qui-aht people for their conservation vision and leadership. A special thanks to Tyson and the Maaqutusiis Hahoulthee Stewardship Guardians for their time spent with me in the woods.

See the other winning and shortlisted photos here: www.earthphoto.world/2024-shortlist-exhibition

If you’re considering exploring the lands and waters of Ahousaht territory in Clayoquot Sound, be sure to check out the Maaqutusiis Hahoutlhee Stewardship Society website for information on planning your trip: https://mhssahousaht.ca/


Climbing the Largest Spruce Tree in the Carmanah Valley

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I'm excited to share that we have located, climbed, and measured the largest spruce tree in the 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 myself and Ian Thomas of Ancient Forest Alliance while exploring the Carmanah Valley in the spring of 2022 and climbed later in the fall with the help of professional arborists with Bartlett Tree Experts. The images are being released for the first time today to celebrate Earth Week.

The monumental spruce 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). This makes it the largest tree in the Carmanah Valley overall (despite the famed Carmanah Giant being taller) and the fourth-largest spruce tree on record in BC, according to the BC Big Tree Registry.

This giant is the most spectacular Sitka spruce tree we’ve come across in our decades-long search for big trees in BC. As huge as they seem from the ground, we often only see a third of a giant tree, which can extend hundreds of more feet into the air. Climbing into the canopy of this ancient tree was like entering a lost world. Its limbs were adorned with moss & ferns, and its massive trunk kept dividing into what appeared to be a grove of trees amongst itself. Eventually, we were rewarded with a stunning view over the Carmanah Valley, more than 20 stories in the air!

This climbing project was part of my work as a National Geographic Explorer with support from the Trebek Initiative. We extend our greatest thanks to the team at Bartlett Tree Experts as well for donating their skills and expertise to make this climb possible.

All climbing and filming done with permission from local governments. Low-impact techniques ensured the tree was protected.

See the Ancient Forest Alliance press release for the full story, and be sure to send an instant message calling for the protection of old-growth forests in BC.

See the incredible video of the climb below!

Washington Post: "'Freak of Nature' Tree is the Find of a Lifetime for Forest Explorer"

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Amazing!! See major US news coverage in The Washington Post featuring the giant redcedar tree I located on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound, BC, Ahousaht territory. Hear thoughts and perspectives about the tree and conservation from Ahousaht Hereditary Representative Tyson Atleo as well.

The Ahousaht First Nation is at the forefront of old-growth protection in BC, with plans to protect the majority of their territory with several Provincial Conservancies which they are asking the province to legislate. This legal designation protects First Nations subsistence uses (hunting, fishing, foraging, cultural cedar use), co-management authority, and rights and title to the land. The Ahousaht land-use vision is also a great example of how conservation financing can support new legislated protected areas that protect old-growth forests while fostering sustainable, conservation-based economies that include businesses like the new Ahous Adventures.

The story was also featured in The Independent UK as well: Rare tree hunter in Canada finds ‘freak of nature’ 1,000-year-old cedar

Canada's Most Impressive Tree - Flores Island, Clayoquot Sound, BC

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This is huge - literally! I’m thrilled to share images of what may very well be Canada’s most impressive tree. This gargantuan redcedar measures over 17 ft (5 m) wide near its base and 151 ft (46 m) tall. However, unlike most other trees, its trunk gets wider going upwards, culminating in a sprawling fortress-like crown of wooden spires akin to a massive wooden wall of an ancient castle.

This giant could possibly have the largest or near largest wood volume of any tree in Canada for about the first 50 feet of its trunk - the part you see and experience from the ground. This would make it, experientially, perhaps the most impressive tree in Canada, despite other cedars being taller or ranking higher overall.

It grows in a remote region of Flores Island in Ahousaht territory in Clayoquot Sound, BC, and has so far garnered the nickname ‘The Wall’, or ‘ʔiiḥaq ḥumiis’, meaning ‘big redcedar’ in the Nuu-chah-nulth language. The exact location has been asked to be kept private at this time.

I first located and photographed the tree while exploring with my friend, Nathaniel Glickman, as part of my project work as a National Geographic and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer. Approaching it for the first time, I was almost in disbelief that it could be real. The scale of its looming trunk and sprawling canopy was absolutely mind-blowing. It's like a living fortress. In my nearly twenty years of searching for the biggest trees in BC, coming across this one has been the pinnacle of my career thus far.

In the spring of 2023, I returned with Tyson Atleo, Hereditary Representative of the Ahousaht Nation and the Natural Climate Solutions Program Director of Nature United, and members of the Maaqutusiis Hahoutlhee Stewardship Society (MHSS).

Thankfully, the incredible Land Use Vision from the Ahousaht Nation, currently in the late stages of negotiations with the BC government, calls for the protection of 80% of Ahousaht territory, including the ancient forest where this tree is found. This would happen through the creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) to be legislated as Provincial Conservancies by the province.

The BC government must fully fund and support Indigenous-led protection of old-growth across BC, including in the remaining monumental old-growth stands and those identified as most at risk by the province’s science panel, the Technical Advisory Panel. Speak up here.

I commend the Ahousaht Nation for continuing to be such incredible stewards of their lands, which harbour some of the most magnificent ancient forests, trees, and wildlife on Earth. Those interested in exploring their territory near Tofino should consider joining an eco-cultural tour with Ahous Adventures.

See the Ancient Forest Alliance media release, CBC interview and article, and CHEK News video interview.

Carmanah Valley: New Giant Spruce Tree Identified

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UPDATE - 2024: We’ve since climbed and documented this tree with professional climbers! See the photos and story and watch the incredible video too!

At 12.5ft wide, over 250ft tall, and with a crown that is a world unto itself, this Sitka spruce may now be the largest known tree in the Carmanah Valley.

We came across it last weekend when myself and some friends were exploring in the park. After a long day of bushwhacking, daylight fading, and snow beginning to fall, its giant, multi-forked canopy caught our eye from a distance. We bumped into another group of big tree seekers before making our way over to this Goliath of the woods, shouting with excitement as we approached it.

Certain trees just enter into a different category of big and this would be one of them. It can be hard to comprehend their incredible age and immense size. To be in their presence is both humbling and inspiring, and fills you with stoke!!

The Carmanah Valley is special place. Protected in the 1990’s after hard fought conservation battles, it is home to some of, if not the the very best, old-growth Sitka spruce stands in the country. It’s also famous for having the tallest tree known in Canada, the Carmanah Giant, which stands 315ft or 95m tall.

With its sweeping valley bottoms and rolling slopes all still intact, it leaves you wondering what else could be out there. For now, this appears to be the biggest, but more could surely be in store. Only time and further exploration will tell!

The Easter egg hunt continues…

Explore Magazine - Speak for the Trees

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Check out the summer issue of Explore Magazine for a feature interview I did on the topic of BC's ancient forests! The article covers the history of the Avatar Grove campaign, the economic value of standing old-growth forests, and debunks the BC government's claim that these forests are not endangered. Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce President, Dan Hager, and Spirit of the West co-owner, Rick Snowdon, share their personal experiences as tourism operators as well.

Exploring Ancient Forests at Cheewhat Lake

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An massive western redcedar tree measuring 14.6ft in diameter near Cheewhat Lake in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on southern Vancouver Island.

I spent recently spent two days exploring for giant trees in the Cheewhat Lake region on southern Vancouver Island. Here is where you can find the Cheewhat Giant, Canada’s largest tree and also now the world’s largest western redcedar (20ft in diameter!). I have a personal goal of finding the new champion tree and figured this would be a good place to start looking! I didn’t end up finding it on this trip but I did see a number of exceptional cedars, including the one pictured above. There were also numerous CMT’s (culturally modified trees), including a partially finished canoe which was overgrown with plants and trees - so cool! The bushwhacking was intense and the mosquitoes were relentless but the rewards were huge. My next trip to this remote and wild landscape can’t come soon enough!