The University of British Columbia, Vancouver campus, along with the local community works together with landscape architects, UBC Building Operations and arborists to manage UBC's urban forest. The campus is surrounded by forest on three sides while the Pacific Ocean is located on the fourth. This stunning landscape is what makes this campus truly unique.
The trees located on UBC's campus are an important part of what makes this campus standout. The large surrounding urban forest has been actively managed by UBC for close to 100 years. The campus first opened in 1908 and since then about 8,000 trees have been planted and over 10,000 native trees still stand in there natural setting. The forest is managed by professional arborists and is often used in research by the UBC Faculty of Forestry.
A tradition at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus, is that of the Tree Planting Ceremony. Since 1919, each graduating class has planted a graduation tree as a symbol of leaving something behind to remind and inspire future UBC students. "The idea for an annual tree planting stemmed from a combination of factors — the desire to honour the first official graduating class of UBC and the apparent need to keep up with the early 20th-century trend that was commemoration. The class of 1919 took after its American neighbours (graduation-tree planting was common at American universities) and planted a basswood tree to celebrate its own graduation. For the next seven years, basswood trees were planted for each graduating class. These trees were originally placed in the botanical garden but later moved to the east side of the Geography Building. In fall, it’s common to see their heart-shaped leaves scattered on Agricultural Road." (Mormei Zanke: Tree Planting Ceremony, UBC).
| Year | Type of Tree Planted |
|---|---|
| 2017-2018 | London Plane (Plantanus acerifolia) |
| 2016-2017 | London Plane (Plantanus acerifolia) |
| 2014-2015 | Zelkova |
| 2010-2013 | Zelkova (3) |
| 2008-2009 | Zelkova Serrata (2) |
| 2003-2007 | Zelkova (4) |
| 2002 | Japanese Zelkowa |
| 2001 | Honey Locust |
| 2000 | Raywood Ash |
- ^ "Campus Trees | UBC Campus & Community Planning". planning.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ^ "Campus Trees | UBC Campus & Community Planning". planning.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ^ "Tree Planting Ceremony | Graduation at UBC". graduation.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
- ^ "Tree Planting Ceremony | Graduation at UBC". graduation.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-06.