Charcoal on Douglas-fir. Photo by J. Rastogi.
The First Peoples in whose territory Wildwood is set, are the Hul’qumi’num Coast Salish, speaking a language used from Duncan to Nanaimo (Snuneymuxw) and on the adjacent mainland and up the Fraser Valley as far as Hope. Contrary to popular belief that Indigenous People used and influenced forested areas very little, their use and management of forest resources actually had a significant effect on forest ecosystems. It is believed that their fire practices in particular were instrumental in shaping the forest structure and composition as seen by the European settlers when they first arrived in the district. The First Peoples’ use of relatively frequent but low intensity, quick-burning fires tended to reduce underbrush and tree seedling establishment. Rather, open forest with scattered clearings and edge ecosystems created from these fires promoted forage for deer, and favoured production of berry bushes such as huckleberries, strawberries, blackcaps, trailing blackberries and salal. This practice kept the stands around Wildwood relatively open and favoured Douglas-fir, which is relatively fire-tolerant because of its thick bark, over other tree species with thinner bark and less resistance to fire.
Wildwood was homesteaded in 1889 by J.O. Sullivan. He left the property to a relative from Victoria who occasionally visited it. It was purchased by Mr. Von Platten, who vacationed on the property for a few years before selling it to Merv Wilkinson in 1938 for $1500. This was the value of the timber on the property at that time. The timber was considered “junk wood” because of the relatively short logs the trees would yield due to their large branches.
Merv was introduced to some Scandinavian forest practices while taking an agricultural course. Key among what Merv integrated were the ideas of harvesting less than the annual growth rate, so that the stand volume is not diminished over time; and single tree selection or what Merv called “sustainable selective forestry”. The underlying principle is one of sustaining timber yields over time. The standing volume was seen as being equivalent to the capital in a bank account and the annual growth rate as the interest.
Photo by Ed Wilson.
Later Merv adopted ecological practices too. Pileated Woodpeckers, in particular, played a big role in initiating this development. Merv realized that woodpeckers were good insect control agents and, thus, if he wished to have fewer insect pests he should encourage their presence. He did this by leaving snags for the woodpeckers to nest in, as well as specific western redcedar trees, with carpenter ant galleries, as these insects are a preferred food source.
Large trees dominated much of the property when Merv took over the property. The early harvests included some of these as well as many of the windblown trees. However, Merv did leave some large trees standing because he had a sentimental and aesthetic fondness for them, as well as because he valued them as seed sources. In general, he chose to leave trees with lower timber values such as ones in windy locations which were likely to have “windshake”. The Douglas, or Red Squirrels, too, helped in the decision on which trees to retain. Merv surmised that the trees preferred by the squirrels were likely to have better seed quality and thus were good candidates to retain in the stand for seeding the stand.
Over time more ecological information was gathered and applied reflecting a philosophy of adaptive management – something Merv wished to continue at Wildwood.
The relative priority from the economic to the ecological shifted in Merv’s practices around the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. These were formative times in Merv’s thinking.
In British Columbia the 1980’s and 1990’s brought considerable conflict around views on the values of forests, and the publics’ role in guiding the development of forest planning policy. Many people felt (and continue to feel) that the main method of harvest (large scale clearcutting) and the practice of harvesting volumes above the annual growth rate were irresponsible and had detrimental outcomes, particularly to old growth forests and their dependent species. Negative reverberations of these practices were also noticed in the form of landslides, flooding, and impacts on fisheries, due to erosion and sedimentation of streams, increased water temperatures, and rapid fluctuations in water flows due to lack of water-holding capacity on forested hillsides. Other forest values important to the public, included serving as habitat for wild animals, especially for rare and endangered species, as well as for recreation and aesthetics. Newer forest values to be recognized include carbon sequestration, climate regulation, and holding and purifying community water supplies. Upheaval in the economic and community structures of logging towns, as forests are removed and destroyed through overharvesting, are also recognized. Moreover, the public institutions charged with responsibility for overseeing the stewardship of forests (95% of which in B.C. are owned by the “crown”), were seen to be facilitating the liquidation of forests, which are spoken of as renewable resources, and were thus serving the needs of industry and corporate shareholders rather than the needs of the public or of nature.
Photo TLC files.
Merv became involved in public opposition to the industrial forestry of the time, and Merv both benefited from and contributed to these discussions. Exposure to new ecological knowledge contributed to changes in his stewardship practices – which continue to influence our trajectory today. His contribution was sharing his property, his knowledge and experience and his enthusiasm with others. As a result Wildwood became well visited by those looking to bridge our culture’s gap between humans and nature, and by those wishing to explore other models of forest stewardship that do not degrade forest-associated ecosystems.
Merv also became involved in the large civil disobedience actions at Clayoquot Sound (blockading a public road used for transporting logs out of the area) and was among the 850 arrested and charged with contempt of court for ignoring a B.C. Supreme Court injunction against the blockade. An elderly logger protesting logging, representing himself at trial and being called “magnificently unrepentant” by the sentencing judge, certainly provided a good story to the press, thus propelling Merv and his work at Wildwood to greater prominence. The result was an even greater number of visits and awards to Merv and Wildwood, and also the recognition that this example was inspiring and encouraging others to pursue more ecologically minded land stewardship. As Merv’s age increased it became a concern to a small group of friends and academics that Wildwood would not continue beyond Merv’s lifetime if plans could not be made to purchase the property, which is now in an area of rapid residential development.
In December 2000, TLC – The Land Conservancy became involved and purchased Wildwood from Merv (who owned 25 % of the property and his land partner who owned a 75% share). Our primary purpose at Wildwood is to operate it as a learning and research site, where those who want to, can learn ecoforestry principles and practices. Because of Merv’s involvement with the Ecoforestry Institute, he requested a partnership be formed between TLC and the Ecoforestry Institute to steward the forest. (The idea of forming the Ecoforestry Institute came out of the 1989 State of the Island Conference held in part at Wildwood.)
