On the streets of Burnaby, the cherry trees have bloomed, boasting the end of winter and the promise of a warmeder season.
While some people take for granted that these trees will showcase their spectacular floral display each April, the fact is, some of the most rare and vulnerable varieties of Japanese cherry trees are on the decline in the Lower Mainland.
But in a lab at BCIT, a group of science students is working on a solution to the problem.
Since 2011, honours students in the biotechnology program have been cultivating in-vitro cultures of several types of cherry trees, harvested with permission from the Vancouver Park Board.
"It's been great to be involved in preserving these trees," said Keith Turner, biotechnology instructor and project supervisor at BCIT, in a press release. "The students have worked hard and they get a boost knowing they've made a difference preserving a beautiful part of Vancouver's heritage."
There are about 40,000 cherry trees in the Lower Mainland, of about 55 different varieties, which are celebrated in April during the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival.
Replacements for some of the threatened types cannot be imported from outside of Canada because of strict plant health regulations, according to the press release.
With each month the students nurture the tiny cherry blossom trees in the lab, the trees' chance of survival increases. The plants will later be transplanted from their test tubes into pots in a greenhouse where they will be gradually acclimatized to life outside, and eventually be planted along the streets of Vancouver.
"It has been gratifying to be able to work with students to try and save some of these rare cultivars," said Douglas Justice, associate director and curator of collections at the UBC botanical garden, in the press release. "These trees not only look beautiful, they have historical significance - many of the original trees came from Japan as gifts to commemorate Japanese Canadians who fought in World War I. Helping preserve the trees preserves beauty and our shared history."
