Trees have been an important part in our society for generations, so why stop now?

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A former city planner, Alex Jamieson, is passionate about preserving trees in urban cities. After graduating architecture school in 1970, he stumbled upon a book. As someone who loves trees (and books!), he found inspiration in the book, “Design with Nature” by Ian McHarg. Follow Jamieson as he describes his battle to convince developers, builders, and city planners to work around trees, instead of cutting them down.

 

Flash forward 52 years, Jamieson is still collaborating with various groups of people who are passionate about environmental protection to protect trees in his city of North Vancouver after a horrifying event occurred a few years prior. On Earth Day 2015, a giant cedar tree was cut down across the lane from Jamieson’s house for development. Jamieson’s granddaughter Kaia recounts the event and how her mom, brother and herself wrote letters to the City each year asking for a tree bylaw.

 

Now in 2022, a tree bylaw passes, but it’s not enough. Jamieson details how trees need protection on all zones: single-family homes and duplexes, not just on multi-family homes. Jamieson and his partner in crime, Michelle Sheardown, describe systems that need to be implemented to help draw carbon out of our atmosphere by using trees as carbon sinks, not furniture, to help make our city a more healthy and happy place to live.