UNBC undergraduate biology student Michelle Cundy discovered that a number of seedlings set for tree planting this year in southern BC had poor root growth and were not suitable to be planted.

She made the discovery while doing routine testing at the I.K. Barber Enhanced Forestry Laboratory on behalf of the provincial government. By spotting the problem early, Cundy’s work ensured damaged trees were not planted.

UNBC is under contract with the Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations to sample a number of seedlings each year before tree planting season. The aim of the program is to identify any problems early in the process, before the seedlings are planted.

Each year after the seedlings are taken out of cold storage UNBC receives a sample group of trees and monitors their growth under controlled conditions to ensure they will be viable when planted during the upcoming growing season.

Cundy worked out of forestry lab and was trained by UNBC greenhouse staff. She planted the seedlings, watered them and monitored their root growth. A few weeks into the sampling some seedlings started to look less healthy and Cundy reported her findings back to the Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

By identifying this problem before the trees were planted it saved the cost of planting unsuitable trees and possibly having to replant an area in future years.