Products & Services
Timber
Waaykaash provides old growth western red cedar logs, harvested sustainably from wind-fallen trees. They produce over 10,000 cubic metres of wood annually. Raw logs are marketed through a partnership with A&A Trading Ltd.
Contract Logging
Waaykaash also provides contract logging services to other forestry companies on Vancouver Island, supplying a fully-trained and equipped team with proven experience in British Columbia’s forests. For more information contact Erick Michael at 250-202-3252 | emichaellogging@gmail.com
Western Red Cedar
(Thuja Plicata)
Western red cedar is valued by builders for its durability, dimensional stability, and natural resistance to decay and insect damage. It’s used for roof shingles, exterior siding, ship building, transmission poles, decking, outdoor furniture, playground equipment, and more.
Red cedar is the largest tree in Canada and can grow as tall as a 20-story building, with circumferences of up to 20 metres. That means it would take 12 people, holding hands, to encircle the trunk. All that volume, along with cedar’s slow rate of decay, makes it one of the best natural carbon banks on the planet. One mature tree can store several metric tonnes of carbon.
The western red cedar has been integral to Pacific Northwest Indigenous culture for millennia. Virtually every part of the tree is used for some aspect of life. The wood is turned into dugout canoes, boxes, paddles, totem poles, tools, and furniture. The bark is harvested to make hats, mats, clothing, ropes, baskets, fishing lines, and medicine. The leaves and branches are used in ceremony.
But cedar’s value can’t be fully quantified by its utility. Traditional teachings place people in a deep, spiritual relationship with these trees, a relationship rooted in reciprocity and care. These teachings call on humans to harvest responsibly, and to protect cedar’s forest home.
The Nuu-chah-nulth name for red cedar is Huumiss (pronounced hoo-mees), Huu signifying something long-lasting, perhaps across space and time. One of its Latin names, arbor-vitae, translates as “tree of life.”
Sources: Serena Renner, Red Cedar: The Amazing Giving Tree, The Tyee; Rachel Bonomo, The Resilience and Significance of Cedar, The Nature Conservancy of Canada; Sacred Red Cedar, Indigenous Corporate Training