The Mother Tree Project (MTP) stands at the forefront of regenerative forestry
research, addressing the urgent need to safeguard and steward British Columbia’s forests amidst escalating threats from global climate change.
Established in 2015 by internationally acclaimed author and UBC’s Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences Professor Suzanne Simard, the MTP is a
groundbreaking research initiative that explores innovative strategies for enhancing carbon storage, protecting biodiversity, and promoting forest regeneration in a rapidly changing environment.
The project also investigates how different forest management practices influence the survival and growth of both natural regeneration and planted seedlings whose seeds are sourced from more arid climatic regions. By studying the responses of these seedlings to different levels of overstory tree retention, the project aims to identify what can improve forest recovery following disturbances such as clearcutting, insect outbreaks, wildfires, and droughts in our changing climate.
Indigenous knowledge systems have always recognized the interconnectedness of forests. Moreover, Indigenous stewardship has created the most biologically diverse ecosystems, and Indigenous territories are home to 80 percent of our planet’s biodiversity. MTP researchers are working with First Nations in British Columbia to develop restorative and regenerative forest management practices for our changing climate.
By bridging ancestral wisdom with modern ecological understanding, the MTP is
working to develop regenerative forestry solutions that will help solve global climate change.
