6 Reasons We Need To Protect and Cherish Old-Growth Forests – Confessions of a Tour Guide

According to a report by compiled by the Bert Miller Nature Club in 2003, titled “Old Growth Survey of Niagara Peninsula”, there are eight old growth forest ecosystems in the municipality of Niagara-on-the-Lake of scientific and cultural value. There are arguably more than this, but the report highlights and identifies the cream of the crop.

1. There Are Trees Over 300 Years Old

We’re talking about Niagara-on-the-Lake ‘s remaining forest segments that have stood the test of time. They may contain ancient trees that can be nearly six feet in diameter, and shelter undisturbed pockets of habitat that have remained relatively undisturbed. There is a lot at stake in these strongholds of trees over 300 years old. The trees have been growing and dying and repeating the cycle without physical interruption since the last ice age, 12,000 years ago. These locales are not entirely immune to human disturbance these days in Niagara, but they represent the last of their kind.

2. The Presence of the Rare Scarlet Oak

There’s the forest on top of the Niagara Escarpment by Queenston Heights. It’s a walk through a cathedral of towering oak, beech, and maple species overlooking the farmland. I recently learned that it is not only old growth, but the Bert Miller Nature Club report mentions how it is Canada’s best and possibly only example of an old growth forest with scarlet oak. I wasn’t even aware this species of oak was in Canada, let alone in my backyard after all these years, either.

3. The Unique Species Contained in the Gray Forest Shumard Oak Grove

This field of work with the woods is forever fascinating. You are always learning and making new discoveries, from the outdoors itself, or, from others in your field of study and passion. There’s even a little plot along Line 9. As a school kid going to St. Davids, the bus plodded by this small but towering woodlot every day. Even as a youngster, I spent a tonne of time in the timber. I didn’t quite know what species I was looking at a lot of the time out the bus window, but I could visually start to pick out the characteristics that make old-growth forests special places. I could see it from the bus. Lots of strikingly different leaf colours in the fall. Totally different styles of bark along all the trees. Some would be dark and burnt looking, others would be bleached white. Some trees looked simply enormous from the bus window. There were logs on the forest floor, half my height at the time.

Prior to writing this article, I wasn’t surprised to learn from the fantastic report by the Bert Miller Nature Club that this forest is one of Niagara-on-the-Lake ‘s identified and named old growth forests of significance. It’s called the Gray Forest Shumard Oak Grove. The report spoke to how this little forest has features that make it biologically exemplary, as it includes both old and internationally rare species of tree.

4. The Niagara River Heritage Oaks are Absolutely Ancient

The report also gives honorable mention to the ancient oaks and protected shores of the Niagara River. There’s a handful of forests that the Niagara River’s recreation trail passes through, or that you can glance from the edge of the road. These spots are referred to as the Niagara River Heritage Oaks, specifically the spots between Brown’s Point and McFarland House. The bluffs and tiny ravines trickling down to the Niagara River have offered historic refuge for trees that have seen the war of 1812 and prior. Especially some of the ancient oaks.

5. They Provide Habitat For the Nation’s Rarest Species

With these trees and protected shoreline spots, there are critical habitats only provided by old-growth forest and complex trees. They provide an opportunity for some of the nation’s rarest species to take shelter in specialized habitat structures, like holes in trees or high canopies. A noteworthy point provided by the Bert Miller report, which I found both powerful and fascinating, was to do with the oldest trees we have remaining. They are living storage units of resilient and irreplaceable DNA. Their genes should be secured, as they have withstood more intense natural (and human induced) stressors over all these years- and they still survive. Imagine all of those extra hot summers, the ice storms, the invasive insects, or the long and challenging winters. Yet, some of these trees continue to grow their green leaves back every spring. The miracle remains within their cells and is ready to perform again, for either that exact tree, or perhaps as a powerful set of genes for a future generation.

These particular trees, and their protective surrounds, should be protected in Niagara-on-the-Lake and all Niagara municipalities. They are literally irreplaceable in their standing value, to biodiversity and our community in unison. It’s safe to say that the Niagara Region and Niagara-on-the-Lake alike have already lost the vast majority of our large trees and their associated habitats.

6. Paradise Grove is Old Growth in the City

Did you know that relative to its area, the Paradise Grove forest in Niagara-on-the-Lake is perhaps the best collection of large trees (regarding diameter and age) in the whole of Niagara Region? We all see visitors and locals alike walking in downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake, where ancient trees still exist in between the architecture and along the sidewalks. If people are walking (and if not on their phones!), they’re often looking up. People are curious and taken aback by large, champion trees. It’s a sign that we need to keep them around and healthy for our own wellbeing, too.