Tree 973

Tree 973 is an ongoing photo essay focusing on a single tree at the University of British Columbia-Vancouver (UBC-V) to examine the changing campus site in relation to the surrounding forest. As with the rest of the UBC-V campus and the adjacent forest of the Pacific Spirit Park, Tree 973 sits within the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam First Nation. Like many trees on campus, it is known by a reference number (973) that identifies the tree throughout its lifespan, indexing it in various databases managed by campus arborists, landscape architects, and external landscape contractors. Tree 973 is a Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), recommended for retention in a residential development area known as Wesbrook Place, managed by UBC Properties Trust. Tree 973 is the tallest tree on the site, reaching the height of the canopy of the other Douglas Firs in nearby Pacific Spirit Park and other remaining trees in adjacent lots, which had been part of the same forest prior to the site being cleared for campus development. Now isolated to a small group of trees at the corner of the grazed block, Tree 973 serves as a reference point for the former forested land, placing the newly constructed condo towers in ecological, spatial and temporal context. The photos in this series were taken from March to November 2019. [Note: clicking on the first image will bring up a new window with a slide-show view of the entire photo essay.]