Field Season

We are excited to share that the 2026 Mother Tree field season is well underway, with a field crew of four university graduates working across British Columbia on a range of research activities. They began in May at the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest on the south coast, where they remeasured natural regeneration and five tree species planted in 2019, now reaching up to seven metres tall. Their work compares the growth of naturally regenerated and planted trees across clearcut and partially harvested sites. The team has since moved to the Alex Fraser Research Forest in B.C.’s Interior, where they are based in a forest cabin beside a lake while measuring dry Douglas-fir stands treated with different thinning methods to improve forest health. Next, they will travel to the Kootenay region to measure additional seedlings before heading to Phillips Arm in Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw territory to assess carbon storage and biodiversity in young stands thinned as part of a forest restoration project.