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June 10, 2009
Work begins to realign Vancouver's ancient hollow tree
VANCOUVER – The ancient hollow tree in Vancouver's Stanley Park should be standing a little taller by the end of the week.
The Stanley Park Hollow Tree Conservation Society says the up-righting of the Vancouver icon will begin Thursday and will likely take most of the day.
A crane will be used to gently lift the massive 1,000-year-old red cedar stump and shift it towards its original vertical position, allowing crews to stabilize the foundation.
In January, the newly-elected members of the Vancouver Park Board approved a $215,000 plan to realign and straighten the tree after wind storms in 2006 left it leaning precariously.
The conservation society says all but $30,000 of the funding has been raised and it is confident public donations will cover the outstanding amount.
The hollow tree was already a relic when some of Vancouver's earliest settlers posed beside it, so there was strenuous public opposition to the original plan to cut down for safety reasons after the 2006 storms.
