About This Project
Where The Trees Were documents Vancouver's missing street trees — the stumps left behind after trees are removed, waiting months or years to be ground down and replaced.
Vancouver currently has a backlog of over 5,500 stumps. Each one represents a tree that can't be replanted until the stump is cleared. This project maps those gaps, makes the problem visible, and gives residents a way to contribute to the record.
Our goal is simple: shine a light on a quiet crisis in our urban forest, and help push for the funding needed to fix it.
The Team
We're West End residents who walk past these stumps every day.
Chief Executive Officer
Oliver
Oliver moved to the West End in 2022, and since then has been on a mission to smell every tree from False Creek to Coal Harbour. He loves the area's lush urban forest, which provides ample pee spots and keeps the sidewalks cool in the summer. But lately, he's been noticing more of his beloved trees being cut down and not replaced. Something must be done.
As a founding member of WTTW, Oliver makes sure the team gets outside every day to stay connected to their 'why.' He takes a lead role in establishing the WTTW culture and acts as an ambassador for the brand.
Chief Product Officer
Natalie Cushing
Natalie and Oliver have been inseparable since they met in 2022. On their slow, meandering daily walks she has ample time to consider urban and environmental issues like street tree management. She notices many small changes in the local trees while waiting for him to decide where to pee.
Natalie is WTTW's subject matter expert, having an education in environmental technologies and being a self-proclaimed Park Board nerd. When she learned that there was a backlog of 5,500 stumps waiting to be removed, what seemed like a local phenomenon crystalized into a city-wide failure. She had been looking for an opportunity to combine her experience in not-for-profit operations with her creative and whimsical side, and this could be it.
Chief Technology Officer
Mandy Sidana
Mandy spends his days as a product manager and his nights dreaming of starting an intentional community. Since meeting Oliver and Natalie, he has been looking for small ways to use his skills to make their neighbourhood a little bit better. He can still get a bit in his head, but he is learning to do so from a picnic blanket in Nelson Park while watching the bubble man.
Originally trained as a computer engineer, Mandy both provides the technical know-how to implement the WTTW vision and pushes the team's conception of what is possible. He sees the potential of disruptive, open-source technology to empower small groups to challenge the corrosive powers of capitalism and patriarchy.
Get in touch
Have a question or feedback about the project? We'd love to hear from you.