Our Purpose
BC’s forests are symbols of resilience, legacy, and diversity. But their future lies at a crossroads. With impacted timber supplies, a changing climate, and mounting concerns from many groups, including the forestry sector, there is a shift happening to manage forests for multiple values and embrace an ecologically-centred approach. Using alternative and innovative approaches to forestry, we can help ensure BC forests continue to provide values and services that will support communities for generations to come.
What is innovative silviculture? It includes systems for the harvesting, growing and tending of forests where the primary objective is to achieve holistic stewardship of the land base. Innovative silviculture systems are driven by an appreciation of ecological, social, cultural, and economic values of forests, where stewardship is focused on maintaining dynamic ecosystem processes and functions.
Our vision is that the Silviculture Innovation Program will accelerate the growth of innovative silviculture by improving knowledge of these systems in British Columbia using research and extension.
Our Approach
The SIP is developing research that will support collaborative partnerships with communities and practitioners, involve interdisciplinary approaches, and support diverse perspectives. The goal of the research program is to address critical knowledge gaps in innovative silviculture from important topics to under-researched regions, the expansion of existing research trials or the creation of new ones.
RESEARCH STREAM
The SIP is also developing an extension program focusing on empowering underrepresented voices and supporting Indigenous-led and place-based opportunities. Our goal is to support knowledge exchange and transfer between researchers, practitioners, experts, Indigenous communities and the public. By embedding extension into our programming, we can mobilize knowledge and create impactful products and processes.
EXTENSION STREAM
Recent News and Updates
First Nation-led innovation in forestry uses cultural burns and thinning to bring back food and wildlife
For Immediate Release April 1, 2025 Mount Currie, B.C. - The Silviculture Innovation Program (SIP) of the Bulkley Valley Research Centre (BVRC), recently launched its first episode of a new series titled ‘Out On A Limb’. The goal of the series…
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Out On A Limb with Líl̓wat Forestry Ventures
About: Out On A Limb is a series that uplifts trailblazers in BC communities who are leading innovative management practices for the betterment of the forests of tomorrow. The inaugural episode features Líl̓wat Forestry Ventures (LFV) and highlights their unique…
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Growing Community: What We Heard from a Survey of Communities of Practice
Did you know about 7 out of 10 practitioners feel supported by their Communities of Practice (COP) to implement innovative silviculture? A recent SIP survey found that practitioners were largely satisfied with COPs that effectively delivered information and provided…
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