Bioregion
Located on Salt Spring Island off the coast of British Columbia, the land is part of the coastal Western Hemlock bio-geo-climatic zone. Commonly known as a temperate coastal rainforest because of the cool summers and mild, wet winters, which support highly complex and productive forests, this region is home to a tremendous amount of plant and animal life.
The land is nestled in a large plateau near the top of Mt Tuam. Selective logging in 2000 has left the land as a mix of young and mature forest, with small fields and a large outcropping of rock breaking up the gently sloping ground. Several streams wind across the land connecting a series of ponds and wetlands together. Before we arrived there was no human infrastructure other than a network of logging roads, and a drilled well.
The forest is a mix of western hemlock, douglas fir, grand fir, western red cedar, white pine and red alder. Three big leafed maples, a willow and a pacific yew are scattered through the forest. Stinging nettles, foxglove, daisies, thistles, oceanspray, mullen, salal, oregon grape, various mosses, lichens, ferns and lots of grasses make up the understory. Many species of insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals make their home in the air above and land below.
