Caitlin Russell - Section 5

Hi, my name's Caitlin, and here's a picture of me canoeing down Lighning Lake in BC.

I grew up in the Vancouver area, and one thing that's important to me there is Stanley Park. The park is located downtown, and is the 3rd largest urban core park in North America. In the winter of 2006, a huge windstorm devastated the park, felling more than 10,000 trees and causing structural damage to the seawall surrounding the park. One of my favourite landmarks there, a hollowed out tree that was over 700 years old, was so damaged that it had to be cut down. Some of the trees were salvaged for hardwood floors and furniture, so they wouldn't go to waste.
In 10 years, unless we start to curb global warming, I'd expect more extreme storms along the coast. If things continue and the temperature continues to rise, the pine beetle infestation in northern and interior BC could make it's way into more urban green spaces, along with flooding, and just to get really doom and gloom, tidal waves could be likely in extreme weather.www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/Parks/parks/stanley