Urban Forestry Analysis
Gye & Associates Ltd., a group of certified arborists, tree risk assessors, and master woodland managers based in Victoria BC, was retained by Island Coastal Ventures to complete the following baseline forest resource assessment work tasks over the 2008-2009 period:
- Background research to determine the site’s regional forest ecotype setting and prevailing wind systems;
- Field examination of soil morphologies, growing conditions, and tree rooting depths;
- Field examination and mapping of existing tree, shrub, and herb species;
- Inventory of existing tree stand ages, functional conditions, disease centres, and windthrow stabilities; and
- Field examination of proposed forest openings and remnant tree buffers in terms of windthrow potential.
The results of this work, including resource preservation strategies, recommendations to mitigate potential impacts to Longlands’ forest resources from the proposed conversion of forest land to other uses, pruning and replanting strategies to reinforce newly created forest edges and buffer strips, and suggestions to guide the site’s planning and design team in terms of the value of forest retention and proactive management to the proposed development were all critical in guiding the Site Adaptive Planning and Design process.
