Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd. (CCR) is expanding its efforts to include deciduous trees and culturally significant shrub species in restoration projects, especially in areas affected by wildfires.
The company believes after large scale wildfires forest rehabilitation and recovery must go beyond replacing conifer trees.
“Large scale, intense wildfires don’t just affect conifer trees,” Ann Nielsen, Silviculture Manager with Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation said, “they impact the entire ecosystem, upsetting the balance of all its function.”
To bring this vision to life, CCR has teamed up with Roserim Nursery, a family run business just north of Canim Lake, that brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to projects specializing in growing tree seedlings for reforestation and landscape regeneration.
“The amount of deciduous and shrub species this nursery is growing is incredible. It is rare to see one so focused on ecological diversity rather than just rows of conifers,” Nielsen said.
Beyond growing plants, Roserim also has seed procurement and storage experience, skills Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation said they hope to learn from through future workshops and training opportunities.
CCR is exploring ways to scale up the planting of culturally significant shrubs and deciduous species across more sites in the region impacted by wildfire.
They said the goal is to support a full-spectrum recovery that reflects Indigenous stewardship values and contributes to a healthier, more resilient landscape.
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