Could Fraser Valley-grown bamboo supplement BC's timber supply?

A Vancouver-based researcher wants to use a rural Fraser Valley property to grow grass not for feed or lawns, but for construction. Bamboo, though, is not your ordinary BC grass.

But before Sol Rodriguez can build one of the country’s first bamboo-to-board facilities, he’ll need to persuade the overseers of BC’s farmland that his idea is good for BC agriculture.

Bamboo is the world’s fastest-growing plant and is increasingly eyed as a potential solution to both the housing and climate crises. Because it grows so quickly, bamboo—which is technically a species of grass—can act as a massive carbon sink, absorbing significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and using it to create its shoots.

Its rapid growth combined with its sturdiness can also make it an efficient alternative to traditional timber-based forestry.

In recent years, researchers across the globe have been trying to develop efficient ways to use bamboo—particularly in construction. Houses in Asia have been built out of bamboo for thousands of years, but they’re still a relative novelty elsewhere.

The idea of a home built out of long, circular bamboo shoots is not going to be practical everywhere, or for every environment. So as builders look at how to utilize bamboo, researchers have begun exploring ways to process bamboo to create laminated planks and construction-ready boards that can be used to assemble homes and buildings. Countries and non-profits are also hopping on board and trying to stimulate new bamboo industries.

In Canada, the plant is still a novelty. But here too companies are eyeing its potential. In 2021, a proposal emerged to build a high-rise in Vancouver constructed mostly out of bamboo and timber. Still, a bamboo production facility proposed for the Fraser Valley would be one of the first of its kind.

Sol Rodriguez, a UBC forestry researcher, and a company called Bamboo Nations have applied to create a plantation and processing facility on a property on the north side of the Fraser River just west of Hope. To proceed with building on the vacant, mostly treed, parcel, the proposal will have to receive the blessing of both local officials, and the Agricultural Land Commission.

The property in question sits near Ruby Creek along Highway 7, on the north side of the Fraser a short drive west of Hope. Although no farming is currently taking place on the site, the property is located in the Agricultural Land Reserve, meaning there are restrictions on how the property can be used.

Bamboo Nations says it wants to grow several acres of bamboo on the property, while building a 68,000-square-foot facility to process it and turn it into construction products. The facility, the company says in its application to the Fraser Valley Regional District, will be used to process “bamboo cash crops into prismatic carbon-negative construction products.”

“We are providing value-added products grown from land-based farming activity,” the company said in its application. They add that the proposal would increase biodiversity and maintain the existing soil fertility. The company also said the facility would process both bamboo with “locally purchased timber” for use in construction.

Eventually, Rodriguez hopes to build a 20,000-square-foot (0.2-hectare) greenhouse for growing bamboo and fruit trees, and three homes on the property—including one for employees—along with treehouses for “seasonal boarding” use, he wrote in an email to the FVRD.

First, though, the plan will have to clear two government hurdles. The FVRD will get the first chance to weigh in later this week. Staff have recommended the district forward the application to the Agricultural Land Commission for its verdict. They’ve also suggested the company consult with local First Nations, given its proximity to Chawathil First Nation and Skawahlook First Nation.

(Bamboo is not considered an invasive species, but while its growth can be controlled, it has been known to cross property lines and cause damage to neighbouring yards in residential areas.)

If bamboo was already being grown on site, the ALC wouldn’t have much of a decision to make. Existing rules allow for the construction of processing facilities on Agricultural Land Reserve properties, so long as more than half the products used are grown on the land in question. And timber production, harvesting and silviculture are permitted by ALR rules, albeit subject to certain conditions.

But because bamboo isn’t yet being grown on the property, the commission needs to OK the construction of the processing facility as a non-farm use.

That process usually takes considerable time. Bamboo grows fast. But paperwork takes time.