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A bird’s eye view of the forest

Sustainability, Natural Step part of Ziptrek canopy tour

Suspended almost 160 feet over Fitzsimmons Creek, swaying with trees that have been growing on the hillside for up to 600 years, you get a whole new perspective on Whistler’s forests. The view’s not bad from up there either.

After months of engineering and construction Ziptrek Ecotours has launched Treetrek: The Whistler Canopy Walk. Treetrek currently consists of two sections of platforms and suspension bridges that were built into the canopies of resident hemlocks and Douglas fir trees that offer visitors a bird’s eye view of the forest, a view that few people get to see.

Along the canopy walk interpretive signs and guides teach visitors about the trees, animals and the coastal temperate rainforest ecosystem of Whistler. The tour also covers the basic principles of ecological sustainability and The Natural Step, a framework of four system conditions for achieving social, environmental and economic sustainability.

ZipTrek owners Charles Steele and Dave Udow came up with the idea of building a canopy tour after talking with forest scientists. The more they learned, the more they felt they had to share with visitors to Whistler.

"What a lot of people don’t know is that this forest, which is part of the coastal temperate rainforest, is one of the most endangered types of forest on earth," said Steele.

"For every 36 acres of rainforest, which is what they’re cutting and burning in places like the Amazon, there is only one acre of coastal temperate rainforest left in the world. We have some of the best examples of it that can be found anywhere."

The coastal temperate rainforest is also one of the most productive ecosystems on earth, Steele says, converting sunlight to energy and providing the nutrients for systems that sustain some of the largest carnivores on earth, including grizzly bears and cougars.

"There’s a lot of neat stuff going on here that most people don’t know about," said Steele.

"People come to Whistler and they go shopping and recreate a little, but they never get a chance to learn about the forests, which is a shame because it makes you appreciate Whistler a lot more. Once you understand how unique this is, you can never look at it the same way again.

"We bring people up here and they’re just blown away by the forest and the views from up there. We had a family here from Mexico today, which has a rainforest, but they still couldn’t believe it. Most people don’t have this where they come from."

Udow and Steele consulted with a variety of tree experts before they started work on Ziptrek, including Dr. Reese Halter, the founder of Global Forest Science.

As well as gathering knowledge on the forests to share with their guests, Ziptrek was also given advice on how to build in the canopy without damaging the trees.

Ziptrek started to offer tours in 2002, with a training line and four long zip lines crossing back and forth over the Fitzsimmons Creek drainage. It was their goal from the beginning to include a canopy walk in their lease area for guests who would rather not tackle the zip lines, but the funds weren’t there until this year.

The canopy walks and Ziptrek platforms are completely supported by trees with the use of braces and cables. Care is taken to ensure that the trees aren’t damaged in the process.

In addition, the canopy walk is engineered to move with the trees, as well as to hold the heaviest possible snowloads.

Not only does the Treetrek teach people about sustainability, Steele and Udow also like to practise what they preach. They follow The Natural Step system conditions in their own business practises.

First of all the power for their cabin, which is used in the winter, is supplied by a small hydroelectric generator in Fitzsimmons Creek.

They used certified environmentally-friendly cedar to build their platforms and walkways, which is durable and has a built-in resistance to insects.

Event their steel cables, which have to be replaced periodically, can be recycled.

Ziptrek and Treetrek have also created several year-round jobs for the community that use the forest without damaging it in any way.

Their vehicles are the only non-sustainable part of the operation, says Udow, but they are hoping to switch to hybrid vehicles in the future to bring guests to their area. In the meantime they have been planting trees to offset their emissions.

Although they hope their new Treetrek tours do well, Steele and Udow take satisfaction from the fact that they have an opportunity to educate their guests as well as entertain them.

"I think we’re the first business in town to teach The Natural Step to guests," said Udow. "We’ve created something unique for people from age five to 85, and obviously we want people to enjoy the tour and the feeling of being up in the trees, but once they’re up here most people really do want to learn more about it."

"It’s been personally rewarding for me," said Steele. "Since we started Ziptrek two years ago I’ve learned so much about (the forest and The Natural Step) that I’m completely passionate about it.

"When we live in cities we become so detached from the natural systems that sustain us, the forests, the oceans. It’s fun to show people this in a very dramatic way. I guess at the end of the day we hope we can help them make the connection between their actions and the effects they have on the planet, and how much better off we’ll all be using the system conditions."

A Treetrek is available for $39 and tours take an hour and a half on average to navigate through 25 interpretive signs. The Treetrek guides have also been given a binder of information from local ecologists and geologists to help them explain more about the area and answer any questions that visitors might have.

For more information on Treetrek or Ziptrek, call 604-935-0001.