Walking among the Ancients: Honouring a rare old-growth forest
Mary Lynk | Posted: June 11, 2024 10:11 PM | Last Updated: September 9
The Wabanaki-Acadian old-growth forest of Eastern North America is endangered with only 1 per cent left
*Originally published on June 11, 2024.
The intricate complexity and beauty of old-growth forests continue to puzzle and fascinate scientists and researchers.
Generations of untouched deep thick ground cover, ancient trees and astounding biodiversity contain an interconnected world.
"When you look up and the canopy is so high above you get this feeling like you're in a cathedral in one of the old cities in Europe," naturalist Peter Romkey told IDEAS producer Mary Lynk on their tour of the Wabanaki-Acadian old-growth forest stand.
This forest is mostly second or third-generation trees now from clear-cutting and logging. The Wabanaki-Acadian forest stretches from parts of the Maritimes and Southern Quebec down into several New England states.
The World Wildlife Fund lists the Wabanaki-Acadian old-growth forest as endangered — with only one percent remaining.
It is very rare to come across an old-growth forest stand, and Peter Romkey took Mary to a secret location which was in pristine condition with trees more than 300 years old, and a rolling thick forest floor of mosses and fungi.
Here are some photos of Mary and Peter's clandestine walk through the ancient forest.
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Guests in this episode:
Peter Romkey is a naturalist, forest ranger and former executive director of the K.C. Irving Environmental Science Centre at Acadia University. He is retired and living on the south shore of Nova Scotia.
Joan Maloof is an ecologist, and professor emeritus at Salisbury University. She is also the founder of the Old-Growth Forest Network, which works to preserve, protect, and promote America's few remaining stands of old-growth forests. Maloof is the author of several books, including: Nature's Temples: A Natural History of Old-Growth Forests, Teaching the Trees: Lessons From the Forest and Among the Ancients: Adventures in the Eastern Old-Growth Forests. She lives in Maryland.
Ursula Johnson is an internationally renowned multidisciplinary artist. She won the 2017 Sobey Art Award. She descends from a long line of Mi'kmaw Artists, including her late Great-Grandmother, Caroline Gould, from whom she learned basket making. Ursula is a member of the Eskasoni Mi'kmaw Nation on Cape Breton Island (Unama'ki in Mi'kmaq). Johnson also works for Parks Canada as the Mi'kmaq Relations Advisor for the mainland Nova Scotia field unit. She lives in southwestern Nova Scotia.
*This episode was produced by Mary Lynk.