VIBRANT FOREST

Bordering the northwest side of Vancouver’s downtown, Stanley Park is home to more than 180,000 trees and draws an estimated eight million visitors per year. Its centuries-old Douglas firs, ornamental Japanese cherry trees, and many other species have come to symbolize both the city’s diversity and its ancient roots. In the richly illustrated Legacy of Trees: Purposeful Wandering in Vancouver’s Stanley Park (Heritage House Publishing, 288 pages, $29.95), author Nina Shoroplova shares insights from her years of exploring the park as she traces its Indigenous and colonial histories and provides the botanical properties of both native and introduced tree species. Above left, loggers pose while using the springboard system to fell a massive Douglas fir; above right, a female visitor is dwarfed by the park’s trees (dates unknown).