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
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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The Chronosequence 101
SIP Research Spotlight Series The chronosequence: How to study everything, everywhere, all at once What is a “chronosequence”? Big research questions are exciting - but daunting. “What if we harvested this forest differently?” is sometimes easier said than done, as understanding the…
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Launching the SIP Grants Program: Empowering Innovative Silviculture in BC
We have BIG news! After much work behind the scenes, we are excited to launch the SIP grants program. Through our grants program, we aim to develop and support projects that advance innovative silviculture practices and approaches to forest management.…
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