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TJ Watt2026-03-03 09:07:112026-03-04 14:36:34NOW HIRING: Forest CampaignerRelated Posts
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TJ Watt2026-03-03 09:07:112026-03-04 14:36:34NOW HIRING: Forest Campaigner
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TJ Watt2026-02-26 11:49:362026-02-26 11:49:36It’s AFA’s 16th Birthday!
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TJ Watt2026-02-20 16:43:192026-02-20 16:45:09Budget 2026 Shortchanges Nature Protection and Sustainable Forestry Transition At a Critical Time for British Columbia
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TJ Watt2026-02-20 11:35:152026-02-20 13:08:24Welcome, Zeinab, our new Vancouver Canvass Director!Take Action
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Canadian Student Takes Top Prize in International Environmental Journalism Competition with an Article on Avatar Grove
/in Announcements, News CoverageOn this year’s Earth Day, Liz Welliver, a 17 year old student from Pearson College near Victoria, BC, took the top prize for her writing in the biodiversity category in the international Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) competition. Liz, along with three other Pearson students, had also previously put together an excellent seven minute video documentary on the Avatar Grove titled Making a Stand which can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXUPoY7rV4M Congratulations Liz on your big win and continued success!
To read the award winning article click this link: https://youngreporters.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/liz-welliver-canada/
To see the news story about the win click this link: https://environmentaldefence.ca/articles/canadian-student-takes-top-prize-in-international-environmental-journalism-competition
Lichen: the new immortalization
/in AnnouncementsA rolling stone may gather no moss, but two environmental groups are hoping their fungus initiative sticks. And for those looking for that special gift this year, nothing says “I care” quite like eternalizing someone’s name in a species of lichen.
In an effort to raise funds, the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) has partnered with the Land Conservancy (TLC) of B.C. this week to auction off two different species of lichen. The fungus, which forms those haunting “elegant black tresses” on the branches in old-growth forests, is going to come at a pretty price: the highest bid for the AFA lichen is sitting at $1,000 right now, and the one for the TLC is at $3,000. Don’t give up hope yet, though. The auction doesn’t close until Oct. 2 — just in time for Christmas planning.
The undiscovered species was found in B.C. by botanical researcher and taxonomist Trevor Goward, and has been supported by two teams of molecular researchers working in Finland and Spain. According to scientific protocol, the right to give a new species its scientific name goes to the person who describes it, but Goward has donated those rights to whoever scores highest bidder. For the TLC, that money will wind up serving a land conservation project in the Clear Water Valley, and the AFA will put it toward old-growth environmental education.
“Many people want to be immortalized, and this is one way to do this — your name, or the name of someone or something you care about will be there for all of eternity,” says Barry Booth, TLC’s northern regional manager. “It starts by honouring someone’s contribution to the world, but the end result is conservation action, which is a wonderful way to be remembered.”
TLC is hoping the bid is able to cover the cost of the entire Clear Water Valley acquisition project, or $350,000. While it may be steep, bidders could even join the ranks of President Barack Obama, who has the “Obamae” lichen named after him.
For information on how to throw in your bid, visit ancientforestalliance.org, or conservancy.bc.ca.
Naming rights for new species up for auction online
/in News CoverageEver wanted your name permanently associated with a stationary life form that is part algae and part fungi and wholly underappreciated?
Now is your chance. The naming rights to two new species of lichen are being auctioned online, with the proceeds going to the Ancient Forest Alliance and The Land Conservancy of B.C.
Trevor Goward, curator of lichens at the University of British Columbia and author of several books, said in an interview Friday he discovered a new species of horsehair lichen in the mid-1990s in the Hazelton-Kispiox area and a new species of crottle lichen in the Clearwater Valley two years ago, both of them in old-growth B.C. forests.
With help from molecular lichenologists at the University of Helsinki in Finland and the University of Madrid in Spain, both species have been recently confirmed as unique, he said.
Goward has been studying lichens since the late 1970s and has already found about 20 new species.
“It’s like working in the Amazonian rainforest,” he said.
“So few people have looked at these things. What we don’t know is overwhelming.”
Scientific protocol dictates that the rights to name a new species go to the person who describes it, and in this case Goward is allowing those rights to be sold to the highest bidder.
The genus would remain unchanged, and the species name would have to be put into Latin form, he said.
For example, if the crottle lichen was named after someone named Smith, it would be formally Parmelia smithii.
“It’s like being present at a irth,” Goward said.
“We know the surname. What we’re deciding is what this baby will be called. The point is that the baby will last 70 or 80 years whereas this name will last for as long as civilization.”
Goward doesn’t care whether an individual or a multinational corporation wins, saying it’s all about raising money for conservation.
“Call it a gimmick or whatever. We’re a species that likes to name things. Very little money is going into conservation.”
To make a bid on naming the new species of horsehair lichen, visit www.ancient forestalliance.org The deadline is Oct. 2.
If you’d prefer to name the crottle lichen, visit conservancy.bc.ca
That deadline is Sept. 10.