What started as a pandemic project in Grade 6 became a cool nature app for Albertans, leading to a prestigious $100,000 scholarship for Edmonton high school senior Josh Kirsch.
From small acorns, mighty oaks grow, and for Kirsch, his own growth rings started from a childhood fascination with the natural world.
“I’ve always been really interested in nature, like ever since I was a toddler, I just always loved exploring the outdoors. During COVID, I was gifted a book called Heritage Trees of Alberta by the librarian in my elementary school,” Kirsch recalled.
“This book really sparked my interest. It talked about just over 300 heritage trees in the province that all had a cool story behind them, a reason to be recognized as significant,” he said.
“Since then, over the years, I’ve started documenting and researching my own trees, so I go around Alberta.
“My parents raised me as a very outdoorsy child. I was even though I grew up in the city, I was always walking on walking trails and exploring the river, and it’s just always been so fascinating to me to see what grows out there.”
It’s become a family pursuit, from urban areas like Edmonton and Calgary to small towns and high mountain back country, and Kirsch has memorized most of the species that can grow in the province.
He had an eagle eye for significant or weird or extra-big trees, and those one-off trees with unique and interesting stories.
Soon it branched out into a working understanding of computer science.
“Over the years, I’ve started to get more and more data for measurements and kind of where things grow and stuff. Around grade seven, I created a simple Google map of the heritage trees in Edmonton,” he said.
In Grade 9, he found the software limiting him.
“I was gathering so much information that I kind of outgrew that, so I started researching different platforms that I could kind of move to, and ultimately I ended up deciding that it would be more worth my time to build my own platform than to use something existing,” he said.
‘Remarkable trees’
Over the past year, he has coded his website, ancientrootsalberta.ca, and app completely from scratch. With the headline “Explore Alberta’s Most Remarkable Trees,” the site has so far categorized 387 wood beauties by category so enthusiasts can view champions, centurions, native sentinels, storytellers, ancient trees, unique growth pattern, largest circumference, tall trees, edible fruit and prime species examples.
So far, the oldest boulevard tree in Edmonton is a Siberian elm planted between 1910-1920, with a height of almost 13 metres and a canopy that spans over 25 metres.
With its own city ID number, it’s remarkable not only for its immense size but also for its unique place in Edmonton’s urban history.
“This individual has stood for over a century as one of the city’s most distinctive streetside plantings … The city has even modified the surrounding sidewalk to accommodate the tree’s vast surface root system, a rare recognition of its significance and living presence in the streetscape,” the site says.
At the encouragement of the city, residents back then experimented with species that were not commonly used.
“This Siberian Elm stands as a living reminder of Edmonton’s early urban forestry efforts,” the site reads.
Joshua Kirsch, designed an amazing app to let nature aficionados check out Alberta’s most amazing trees, and he’s headed to U of A on a $100K scholarship.Photos taken on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. Photos by Shaughn Butts – Postmedia
People can submit their own trees for consideration for the site, Kirsch said.
“If they have a tree in mind that they think is special or really cool, they can submit it to have it viewed on a public map. I track measurements, all the different species, and of course, you can see all these trees on a map or in a simpler view,” Kirsch said.
“It hasn’t been like a school project or anything — it’s just honestly a wondrous sport for me.”
One of his main goals is to help people understand how awesome Alberta’s forest is. “People often think that you have to go to B.C. or California to see any even remotely cool tree. We have amazing forests here in Alberta. We have super cool trees with awesome back stories, and I honestly think people just need to know more about that,” he said.
There’s much to appreciate. The province’s arboreal wonders clean the air, pump out oxygen, store carbon that would otherwise impact the climate, shelter creatures of all sorts, and prevent soil erosion.
And they are literally cool, their leaves and needles a respite and shade from summer heat.
“It’s a lot about just like sharing the appreciation of nature in Alberta, and then also more specifically for people my age. We live in an amazing province, and if my app can even, or my website can even get one or two, or a dozen people outside exploring trees, that’s an amazing goal for me,” Kirsch said.
Cut back on the hoops
Kirsch loves basketball, but has cut back to focus on schoolwork.
That dedication paid off.
His school counselor, Jacqueline Rohac, encouraged him to apply for the Schulich Leader Scholarship, which gives a hundred lucky and well-prepared Canadian high school grads $100,000 for STEM programs.
Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths — his app was all about STEM.
“(Rohac) saw how my app connected those pillars of science and then math for a bunch of the formulas I use, so I applied for it,” Kirsch said.
Jasper Place backed him in the one scholar nominee per school set up, and he won the Canada-wide competition.
“It’s really amazing, because they’re going to connect me with all the other people, and there will be a mentorship aspect from the professors. I get so many connections — and I just get to be more involved with U of A,” Kirsch said.
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