Climbing takes relationship with B.C.’s trees to the next level
Certified arborist Zadorsky has led more than 1,000 participants into the canopy since launching the tours last May, aiming to deepen forest literacy.
- On Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, certified arborist Tom Zadorsky, founder of Cultivar Tree Tours, led canopy tours at the UBC Botanical Garden, having guided more than 1,000 people into the treetops since launching the program last May.
- The UBC Botanical Garden contains old-growth trees aged 600 to 800 years, spared from logging operations about 150 years ago because of imperfections that made them undesirable to loggers at the time.
- Zadorsky recounts a 92-year-old volunteer who wept upon seeing the forest from above for the first time, and participants frequently celebrate milestones like 80th birthdays in the canopy, creating deeply moving moments.
- Engineer Steve Gosselin climbed a 40-metre Sequoia on Vancouver's Cambie Street last year, calling the views "incredible," though Vancouver's Street Tree Bylaw prohibits attaching ropes or "any contrivance" to city trees.
- Guangyu Wang, associate dean with the department of forest resources management at UBC, calls forests "dynamic ecological systems, not static landscapes," arguing that forest literacy helps communities make better decisions on wildfire prevention and recovery.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Climbing takes relationship with B.C.'s trees to the next level
Fifty metres up a grand fir tree, and the rigidities of the world at ground level fall away. There are the branches, needles, the smell of freshness and a profound stillness. Look up, and tiny flakes of bark patter gently on your face, like a greeting. Tree-climbing guide Tom Zadorsky, who uses his ...
Energetic City
Take a bough: Climbing takes relationship with B.C.’s trees to the next level
Tom Zadorsky, founder and lead guide at Cultivar Tree Tours climbs a tree at UBC Botanical Garden in Vancouver, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA — Fifty metres up a grand fir tree, and the rigidities of the world at ground level fall away. There are the branches, needles, the smell of freshness and a profound stillness. Look up, and tiny flakes of bark patter gently on your face, like a g…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
