Like many people on Canada’s “wet” coast, Vancouverite Don Morrison has been noticing how fast the weather is changing across British Columbia. Summers that used to be relatively mild here are now punctuated by intense bouts of heat and humidity.
But Morrison is in a unique place to do something about that heat — through trees. He’s an urban forestry manager with the City of Vancouver, a job that involves planting as many trees across the city as possible. And not just any trees. Increasingly, it’s about species that will offer big, wide canopies, and are resistant to climate change.
The climate emergency is pushing summertime temperatures up on the South Coast of BC. It’s projected the number of summer days — those above 25 C — will soar from about 22 now, to 50 hot days per year by 2050.
