Legacy of Trees

A BC Historical Writing Award Finalist

Describing Stanley Park through the stories of its trees, Legacy of Trees: Purposeful Wandering in Vancouver’s Stanley Park was published by Heritage House of Victoria in Spring 2020 as an 8.5″ x 9″ glossy paperback with around 250 photos in under 300 pages.

The history and botanical properties of
hundreds of distinctive West Coast trees are revealed in this whimsical and warmly narrated ramble through one of the world’s greatest urban parks.

—Heritage House

Legacy of Trees is available in your favourite local, independent bookstore, in the big box stores, and on all BC Ferries. $29.95 paperback | $15.99 ebook.

Emilie Dierking carries it at Kitsilano Pulpfiction, 2754 West Broadway, Vancouver

Bookstores and members of the public can order Legacy of Trees directly from Heritage Group Distribution in Surrey, BC.

If you live in the West End, the Lost Lagoon store in the Denman Mall has it for sale. It can be ordered online from Indigo Books, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.com, whether you live in Canada, the US, Australia, the United Kingdom, or elsewhere.

The Vancouver Public Library has a slew of paperback copies of the book. Request it at your local branch or through an interlibrary loan.

Legacy of Trees is a finalist in the 2021 BC Lieutenant Governor’s Historical Writing Awards. The winning title will be announced on June 5. Here is the news release.

Legacy of Trees is a British Columbia bestseller, having been in the bestseller list for five weeks.

I held pop-up front door bookstores at 1855 Nelson Street (the block between Denman Street and Comox Street) in Vancouver’s West End, during summer weekends in 2020.

I have been discussing some of the material in Legacy of Trees: Purposeful Wandering in Vancouver’s Stanley Park with others at various events, sharing some of its content, and telling the stories of the trees of Stanley Park.

Here are some of the ways my book has been featured.

Here are some links for more information about Legacy of Trees.

Legacy of Trees excerpt

Legacy of Trees info sheet

Photos of Nina Shoroplova

Author bio for Nina Shoroplova

More is written about Legacy of Trees at Heritage House.

Seventeen photos from the interior of Legacy of Trees are available. If you are planning to publish an article about Legacy of Trees and would like access to these photographs, please email Leslie@HeritageHouse.ca.

An English Oak is Featured in Chapter 14: “An Oak at Brockton Oval”

Here’s an image of the King Edward VII’s English oak that was planted on August 9, 1902 by the Brockton Point Association.

English oak that was planted on King Edward VII’s Coronation Day on August 9, 1902
Instead of planning a book launch for Legacy of Trees: Purposeful Wandering in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, I thought I might make a couple of videos in Stanley Park of some of the trees featured in the book.
This is the King Edward VII English oak (Quercus robur) at Brockton Point.
Just to let you know, the person running the oval is Jasper.

Late October 2019

Photographer and friend Silmara Emde and I had a wonderful afternoon strolling Stanley Park in late October 2019.

This picture below is of me with the first tree that led me to research the history of the trees of Stanley Park. It’s the Queen Elizabeth Oak in the Putting Green.

The plaque for this tree intrigued me and my research began.
Photographer, Silmara Emde of the Orange Lamphouse Studio

Late March 2019

Park goers are enjoying late March beside Lost Lagoon, just as they do every year.
The weeping willows are greening up.