For a few years I had my own, real-life, secret forest hermit in Vancouver who would teach me things. I learned an incredible amount from him about the forest. And then I stopped finding him in the forest. The forest seemed to notice his absence. A few months later I found out he had died.

Every once and awhile I try and do some ‘big tree’ hunting in British Columbia. I’ve discovered something a bit distressing when I do find these big trees. Almost always there is an English Holly (ilex aquifolium) growing somewhere near the Big Tree. It doesn’t matter how deep or untouched the forest is. If there is a known big tree that people hike out to see, then there will a Holly there.

Imagine walking into your favorite local forest one day only to discover that it was now just a massive pile of dirt. Thanks to a nearby construction spot, an incredible amount of dirt had been dumped: Ten feet high and taking up the area of a soccer field. Trees encased and surrounded. No way they will survive. Can the forest regrow and adapt? Will new trees grow on the graveyard of old trees?

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.

About a few weeks ago I removed 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.