Listen Close

This boardwalk leads to a grove of Western redcedar, trees that can reach upwards of 200 feet and live for thousands of years. At least one Indigenous people, the Kwakwaka’wakw, called this species the “tree of life,” as each tree provides food and water (fish traps, watertight baskets), totem wood, canoes, clothing, and more. On the day of this outing, intermittent showers had saturated the marshland and made the boardwalk slick and shiny. I could smell skunk cabbage, and the rain highlighted the aromas of pine pitch and cedar. (Old Growth Cedar Preserve)