On the last day of the regular (non-holiday) season, Bob and I spent a bit of time learning about forestry/logging at the BC Forest Discovery Center, about a 15 minute drive from the house.
with both indoor and outdoor exhibits and a train ride.
We began by perusing the indoor exhibits in the bright main building. Through the displays, we learned that 90% of British Columbia’s forests are coniferous (versus deciduous), and we got to learn a bit about the different types of coniferous trees native to the province.
We learned that by law, all forested areas must be reforested. Three trees are planted for every tree harvested. 140,000 jobs, or 1 in 17, in British Columbia are tied to the forest sector. There was also some impressive exhibits on how each part of the tree is used as well as the advantages of building with wood versus steel or concrete in terms of sustainability.
My favorite exhibit might have been an old tree stump. This showed the age of the tree through dendrochronology (fun new word!) or the use of tree rings to date/interpret events based on those rings.
It was blown down by a hurricane in 1962!
The train around the property only runs once an hour, so we started making our way in that direction a little before the designated time. We saw some old vehicles used in forestry on the way.
was used by the Shawnigan Lake Lumber Company until 1922 when it was sold to another logging company.
used locally to haul logs on the island
The following photos were taken on our short train ride through half of the property. We chose to walk back to explore more of the sites.
that we passed on our walk back to the main building.
of an example of a ranger office
A bunkhouse that was part of the logging camp.
Peckish Travels 