THEVOICE |

6

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2021 |

EDITOR AMIR KHAN

Science&Biz

Looper moths, which eat evergreen needles, are to blame among other factors for the decline of tree health in Vancouver. sugiviTTED PHOTO PETER WOODS

Climate damaging tree health

Vancouver s trees weakened by drought, storms and insects

= ByNICOLETTE
COLOSIMO

hile riding his bike
around Stanley
Park in the begin-
ning of August,
Norm Oberson noticed a change
in hemlock trees at Brockton Point.

“They were all dying just after
the heat wave. I've never seen
anything like it in Stanley Park,” he
said. “Even now they are all stand-
ing dead.”

Oberson, an arborist at Arbu-
tus Tree Service, is one of several
people who have noticed severe
changes to the health of trees in
Vancouver. Trees suffering from
drought are at greater risk from
insects and are more likely to fall
down from storms, like the violent
one in early November. Many
scientists connect these events to
climate change.

Oberson said extreme tempera-
ture, such as last summer’s heat
dome, can be the first blow.

“The tree survives, but it’s

stressed,” Oberson said. “[Then] a
bacteria or fungus attacks because
the tree’s defence system has been
weakened. So, it’s susceptible to
attack from other living or envi-
ronmental things.”

When a severe storm moved
through the Lower Mainland on
Nov. 9 — on
the heels of a
deepened low
pressure system
that swept over
the south coast
over the week-
end of Oct. 23
— many frailer
trees toppled,
disrupting L
power lines and forcing the closure
of Langara College.

Dwayne Doornbosch, direc-
tor of the facilities department at
Langara, said due to the summer
drought earlier this year, his team
has been walking the grounds daily
and more aggressively pruning to
keep a close eye on the trees.

“We do regular assessments of all

"They were all dying
just after the heat
wave. I've never seen
anything like it in
Stanley Park.”

— NORM OBERSON, ARBUTUS TREE SERVICE

trees on campus with an arborist.
We then prune or cut trees down
accordingly,” he said.

Mike Mackintosh, a Vancouver
park board ranger, said it is likely
there will be more tree damage this
winter given so many are unhealthy.

“Trees are very shallow rooted.
When high
winds occur,
there is going
to be a certain
amount of loss,”
Mackintosh
said. “Coming
on the heels of
a drought that
we've had this

_!I year, we are
likely to be experiencing a greater
loss than normal.”

The water table is currently high
because of the recent rains, making
things worse as it can flood the
roots from below.

Mackintosh said with extreme
weather, excessive water can cause
rot and fungi to develop. Both can
weaken trees, making them prone

to falling over.

“When the winds hit a lot of
those trees, they lean over,” he said.
“But because of their weakness, at a
certain point they'll actually break
off at the middle of the tree rather
than the tree cascading over from
the roots and it’s terrifying.”

Olga Lansdorp, a conservation
technician at Stanley Park Ecology
Society, said looper moths also hit
trees hard this summer.

“Looper moths will basically
bite off the whole needle, so they
can cause a lot of damage to trees,”
Lansdorp said, adding that drought
combined with the looper moths
had a compounded effect. “In a
year where there was no drought,
the looper population, like we saw
this year, wouldn’t have been as
destructive.”

Mackintosh said the impacts of
climate change are significant in a
metropolitan area.

“It behooves us to be constantly
on guard and do everything we
possibly can to manage the human
impact.”

MENTAL HEALTH LETDOWN, from page 1

To provide quicker access to
counselling, Langara has recently
created a waitlist system that
provides students with community
resources and referrals while they
wait to see a counsellor.

It is also offering help for a more
diverse range of issues.

“Our team is committed to ongo-
ing professional development and
training on a number of impor-
tant topics, including Indigenous
cultural safety training, anti-racism
learning pods, LGBTQ+ support
service provision, and various other
topics of justice, equity diversity and
inclusion,” Janota said.

“We see that patients
are able to access care
from the comfort of
home, on their own

schedule...”

— SHELLY-ANN RAMPERSAD, VICE
PRESIDENT

Recent surges in demand for
mental health help have inspired
virtual counselling apps such as
Wellin5 and Maple, which allow
young adults to connect with ther-
apists.

According to Shelly-Ann Ramp-
ersad, vice president clinical oper-
ations at Maple, there has been
an over 400 per cent increase in
Maple users since the start of the
pandemic.

“We see that patients are able
to access care from the comfort of
home, on their own schedule, which
makes online therapy a great choice
for many Canadians,” Rampersad
said.

William Masih, CEO of
Wellin5, said “Millennials and Gen
Z are the early adopters for online
counselling so far because they are
already engaged with social media
and technology to stay in touch
with their relatives.”

Langara will also soon offer the
Peer Wellness Support Program
to be run by student volunteers in
January.

“The volunteers can support
students in finding resources, learn-
ing resiliency strategies, and figur-
ing out their next steps to enhance
their own well-being,” said Peter
Walsh, Langara’s mental health

Langara's bachelor of business program undergoes an upgrade
Program overhaul brings changes informed by alumni, students, faculty and professionals

= By LESIA POGORELO

angara’s school of business

management is working

to overhaul its bachelor’s

degree program in busi-
ness administration in a bid to better
prepare its future graduates in light of
the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the last year, Jonathan
Steele, chair of business technology
management, and Brent Kennedy,
chair of business curriculum, worked
with colleagues and the college

administration on the first stage of
the development of the new program.

The co-chairs reviewed four
of the school of management's
diploma programs, three of its degree
programs and four of its post-degree
diplomas. The review included
consultations with industry partners,
faculty, students and alumni.

“We heard from students of what
they felt was good about a program,”
Steele said. “Alumni gave us helpful
feedback, because they've completed
their degree and gone out into the

market.”

The school of business manage-
ment currently enrolls 603 students
across its four bachelor’s degree
programs.

David Williams, vice president of
policy at Business Council of B.C.,
said the pandemic has affected the
labour market and suggested students
monitor the demand for various jobs
and skills sets.

Office jobs are much more tech-
nologically intensive than pre-2020

with more virtual interactions and

fewer in-person encounters because
of working from home, he said. Now
employers are looking for strong
technical or creative proficiency,
coupled with excellent “soft skills”
that are also necessary to achieve a
company’s goals.

“My advice to students thinking
about their career path is to think
about what sorts of occupations, or
tasks within occupations, that you
find fulfilling or think you might be
good at,” said Williams, adding that

Langara business graduates have an

excellent reputation. “Then, look at
the wage signals the labour market is
sending you about demand for vari-
ous jobs and skills sets.”
Saichaitanya Manda, interna-
tional student from India, is on his
first term of post-graduate diploma
program of business administra-
tion. He found Langara’s instructors
professional and understanding. As
he said, he chose this college because
of reputation and well-developed
program.
See langaravoice.ca for full story

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DROP-IN PAGE 3
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MANAGING EDITOR PAGE 6
Alex Antrobus Amir Khan

PAGE 7
PAGE EDITORS Etuviere Mrakpor
PAGE 1 PAGE 8
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