Materials in UBC Open Collections
A number of digitized and born-digital materials are housed in UBC's Open Collections related to Forestry and Forests of British Columbia. Explore these links below for more!
Materials from MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. fonds
- Photographs from the MacMillan Bloedel Limited fonds in Open Collections
The records of MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. ("MacBlo") are part of UBC Library's Rare Books and Special Collections. During its existence MacBlo was one of the largest forest products companies in the world. Images from the collection document the history of MacMillan Bloedel and its predecessor companies (Powell River Company, Bloedel, Stewart & Welch, H.R. MacMillan Export Company, Ltd., MacMillan & Bloedel, and MacMillan, Bloedel and Powell River Company)
Image source: Frank, Leonard. [1925 or 1926]. Logger with tree stump. MacMillan Bloedel Limited fonds. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Library.
Interim Forest Cover Series Maps
These Interim Forest Cover Series Maps were produced in 1958 following the first-ever systematic inventory of the province’s forests. The inventory information was collected from 1951 to 1957 with help from federal funding using a combination of aerial photographs (40 chain photos) and ground sampling plots. In total, 5057 clusters of four fixed-radii plots were used to supplement the aerial photo interpretation. Each map is accompanied by an envelope on which estimates of the timber volume within the map sheet were provided. The volume estimates were intended to be accurate to +/- 10% for major tree species. The maps are printed on high-quality paper, and contain colour-coded representations of various classifications of forest cover. Physical copies of the map series are held in the UBC Library’s Map and Atlas Collection in Koerner Library, as well as at the Rare Books and Special Collections Library, within the MacMillan Bloedel Limited fonds.
The maps have been converted to GeoJSON, the index of which can be found here and the GeoJSON data here.
Capilano Timber Company Photographs
Find Capilano Timber Company fonds in Open Collections.
The Capilano Timber Company Collection forms part of UBC Library's Rare Books and Special Collections. The images are originally from a single photograph album, and depict the operations of the Capilano Timber Company, including loggers, logging camps, and views of the Capilano Valley and the Capilano Suspension Bridge in North Vancouver.
Image source: [Creator unknown]. [1908?]. [Illegible] Capilano Canyon, North Vancouver. Capilano Timber Company fonds. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Library.
Photographs from Peter Anderson fonds
- Find Peter Anderson photographs in UBC Open CollectionsThe Peter Anderson fonds is part of the University of British Columbia Library's Rare Books and Special Collections. Born in Sweden, Peter Anderson emigrated to the United States in 1885. He worked as a farmer in Minnesota and a logger in Wisconsin, and later owned a sawmill in Washington. After a stint in the Klondike in 1897, he later moved to British Columbia and started a logging company at Knox Bay and Grassy Bay. The photographs document early logging operations in British Columbia as well as Anderson's experiences in the forest industry.
Videos from Westland Collection
- Watch videos from Westland
In 1983, Mike Halleran began producing and hosting a television series entitled Westland which aired on the Knowledge Network from 1984 to 2007. Later taken over by his son Terry Halleran, the series explored a broad range of environmental issues associated with forestry practices, fresh water fisheries, endangered species, natural resource management and ecosystem restoration in British Columbia. The programs included extensive on-site footage and interviews with experts and various stakeholders.
In 2011, the UBC Library, with support from the Columbia Basin Trust and other community partners, acquired the Westland broadcast programs as well as an extensive video library of approximately 2,000 source tapes which are currently housed in the University Archives. Known collectively as the Halleran Video Collection these tapes provide an incredible wealth of information relating to natural resource management, environmentalism and sustainability in British Columbia.
UBC Archives Materials
UBC Archives Audio Recordings Collection
Materials in the UBC Archives Audio Recordings Collection include digitized lectures on forest and climate. Try searching by keyword 'Forest'.
The Vancouver Institute Lecture includes lectures of public interest, some related to forests. Try searching by keyword 'Forest'.
UBC Archives Photograph Collection
Many materials in the UBC Archives Photograph Collection related to Forests and Forestry activities on campus and at the University research forests. Try searching by keyword 'Forest'.
Theses and Dissertations in cIRcle: UBC's Institutional Repository
UBC Undergraduate Forestry Theses and Graduating Essays:
UBC undergraduate theses and graduating essays from 2008 to the present are available online through the UBC cIRcle portal.
Select a class to view submitted papers:
Essays from 1920 to 2008 are held in print at Woodward Library and can be found in the UBC Library Catalogue by searching BSF as a Series. To borrow them from the library, please ask at the Circulation Desk.
UBC Graduate Theses and Disserations:
Online
- UBC graduate theses from 1970 - present are online in cIRcle: UBC's Information Repository.
- Unsure of how to use/search cIRcle? Find more information here
Material Available through UBC Primary Source Databases
- American WestCanada and the Pacific Northwest are well documented including accounts of the Gold Rush and of the landscape. Try searching by keyword 'Forest'. Literary and historical works, contemporary newspapers and posters all enable a better understanding of the real and mythic West.
- Canadiana Online'Canadian' source material written by Canadians, published in Canada or written/published outside the country but about Canada. Try searching by keyword 'Forest'.
- Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlement & Colonial EncountersThe earliest documents in this collection are from the seventeenth century but the majority of the material originates from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The material covering North America covers the varied frontier regions from fur trappers in Canada to cowboys in Texas and government in Baja California. It is divided into the frontier regions of the American East, the American Midwest, the American Southwest, California & Mexico and Canada. It covers the exploration of these regions followed by trade with native peoples, colonial rivalries, expansion of government and new nations and the final settlement and 'closing' of the frontier. Try browsing documents by theme such as 'Natural World' or searching by keyword, 'Forest'.
- Gale Primary SourcesAll British Columbians enjoy barrier-free access to this collection. Gale Primary Sources uses geo-authentication, meaning anyone in BC with an Internet-connected device can access these resources with no need to log in or authenticate. You can access the entire collection through this website or through your library’s digital resources. Search by keyword 'Forest' or 'Forestry'. Results include monographs, maps, photographs and more.
For more websites, databases, and resources for online materials related to Forest History, visit the RBSC remote resources guide.