Opportunities abound in sa国际传媒's forests, but the value is not all in the stands of timber.
Think wild mushrooms, salal, berries, essential oils and healing plants, says Brian Belcher, director of the Centre for Non-Timber Resources, a research centre at Royal Roads University that received the welcome news recently that it will receive $109,778 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of sa国际传媒.
The centre, which focuses on sustainable harvest of natural resources and supporting small-scale businesses in rural areas and First Nations communities, works on a cost-recovery basis. It is a struggle to find funding in tough economic times, Belcher said.
The federal funding will finance a three-year research project looking at how support for small businesses, using forest resources other than trees, can improve livelihoods in remote communities.
"We're looking at what has worked in the past when it comes to developing small-scale, natural resource-based enterprises in rural and underdeveloped areas of sa国际传媒," Belcher said.
At a time when the forest industry is crumbling, attention is turning from trees to other plants, many of which are increasing in value because of the growing interest in locally produced foods.
Consider the growth in big-leaf maple tapping on Vancouver Island, Belcher said. "Six years ago, there weren't any big-leaf maple tappers on Vancouver Island and now there are about 60."
Such resources tend to be under-researched as, in the past, the emphasis has been on industrial forestry and industrial agriculture, Belcher said.
"The market is increasing for a lot of these things, but it's difficult to get an estimate. With something like mushrooms, the exports from sa国际传媒 could be $50 million a year," he said. "It doesn't come anywhere near to pulp and paper, but, for the people involved, it's an important income."
The centre, which started five years ago, aims to influence government and corporate policies and would like to see all forest values and sustainable harvests taken into account.
"For example, when the province is looking at the annual allowable cut, it's conceivable a forest company could say, 'This is an area of particular importance to the community,' " Belcher said.
As an extension of the research, the centre brings together buyers and sellers through the Buy BCwild directory. It contains lists of projects, businesses and even recipes -- ranging from chanterelle and cauliflower chowder to elderflower fritters.
Some of the centre's success can be seen in the growing number of wild products in specialty markets and even in mainstream stores. "One of the people we worked with is now supplying wild mushrooms to [Thrifty Foods]," Belcher said.
"It fits with the 'locavore' and 100-mile diet."
Tim Brigham, the centre's education and capacity building co-ordinator, is working on a project, funded by the Royal Bank of sa国际传媒 Foundation, to support aboriginal enterprises that use non-timber resources.
That can mean help with marketing, packaging or even identifying traditional medicine plants when knowledge has been lost because of generations of residential school.
"It's focused on working with new or existing aboriginal entrepreneurs trying to get their businesses off the ground or take them to the next level," Brigham said.
Many aboriginal communities do not have a well-developed small business environment or the work force is inexperienced, so the program links businesses with mentors.
The program is being met with enthusiasm, Brigham said. An example is a native plant nursery in Cowichan where efforts are underway to find a market for "wapato" a traditional wet area potato traditionally used as a carbohydrate in First Nations diets.
