Identifying Native Trees - Update

Handmade Journal

8.5" x 5.5"

Pencil Crayons

I returned to Queen Elizabeth Park to try and identify a Western Hemlock.  I found a couple that might be WH but neither were labelled.

Slowly I am learning the differences between the various evergreen trees in our rainforest.  As I walk the park and neighbourhood streets I stop and look at trees and try to identify at least this much.  Progress, I guess!

Identifying Native Trees - Two New Species

Handmade Journal

5.5" x 8.5"

Uni-ball Pen and Pencil Crayon

I think I have identified two more tree species up at Queen Elizabeth Park:  the Black Cottonwood and the Paper Birch.  They aren't labelled, though, and as they would best be identified in the spring, I can't be sure.

Vancouver is located in the "Coastal Western Hemlock" biogeoclamatic zone.  The Western Hemlock is the most commonly found tree.  Maybe I should look for that next!

Identify Native Vancouver Trees - Project Update

The research continues.  I haven't done a research project like this since I left school and I'm enjoying it!

By cross referencing the "Tree Book - Learning to Recognize Trees of British Columbia" and "A Field Guide to Trees of the Pacific Northwest", I have determined that there are 24 trees native to our area.  (The Field Guide is also available through KNOWBC.com, the online British Columbia Encyclopedia.)

A tree specialist at the City of Vancouver has promised to help me out and I'm continuing visits to Queen Elizabeth Park.  Not bad progress for a week!

Western Red Cedar

Handmade Journal

5.5" x 8.5"

Uni-ball Pen and Pencil Crayon

Back to Queen Elizabeth Park.  How fitting that my first sighting should be British Columbia's provincial tree!

On a neighbourhood walk the next day, I picked up a pine cone and learned from Trees of Vancouver that it is likely from a Douglas-Fir.

Identifying Native Trees

Handmade Journal

5.5" x 8.5"

Uni-ball Pen and Pencil Crayon

I have begun a project to learn about the trees native to the Vancouver area, where I live.  I live within biking distance of Queen Elizabeth Park, which has an arboretum, so I thought I would start there.

"The arboretum was started with a grant from the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association (CPPA) in 1949. The first plantings were done on the north slopes of the park by a group of Junior Forest Wardens. They began by planting blocks of timber species such as ponderosa pine, subalpine spruce, and Douglas fir. Annual donations of $5,000 (the equivalent of $50,000 today) were made by the CPPA until the mid-1950s to continue the development and planting of the arboretum. Most of the larger trees in the park are now about 60 years old.

The objective of the arboretum was to grow examples of every Canadian tree species, with emphasis on those of commercial importance. However, this narrow focus on Canadian species was soon expanded to include exotic trees from around the world because it was found that many boreal forest species did not grow well in Vancouver’s mild climate.

Planting continues to this day to further the legacy of what has been called  “Canada’s first Civic Arboretum". There are now about 1,500 trees." (source:  Vancouver City website. Click this link to read lots more interesting history of the park.)

Drawing From Memory

Handmade Journal, 5.5" x 8.5"

Pencil Crayon

I'm reading Cathy Johnson's "Sketching and Drawing" book.  One of the good lessons is about drawing from memory, which can be useful for drawing birds, people, and other things that move quickly.  The key here is to use the limited time you have with your subject to really look at it.

On the left is a drawing of a wrench I did from memory - after looking at the wrench for a couple of minutes.  Not easy.  On the right I drew it by looking at it.

Just a Kid at Heart

I tried a few of Carla Sonheim's Kids Art Week projects this week.  Here is a cubist dog she showed us.

I couldn't stop at one, so I tried out a face: