A giant old-growth redcedar in lush rainforest of Goldstream Park where the photography workshop will be held.

Ancient Forest & Nature Photography Workshop with the AFA’s TJ Watt!

Join the Ancient Forest Alliance’s award-winning photographer TJ Watt for a fun, hands-on photography workshop intended for novices and amateurs in the incredible old-growth forests of Goldstream Park!

A large group of visitors walk through the Lower Avatar Grove. A boardwalk will help protect the Grove's ecological integrity

AVATAR GROVE EXTRAVAGANZA: Biodiversity Hike and Fundraiser! Sunday, August 7th

Meet 1:00 pm in Port Renfrew at the new Tourist Info Center (right side of the road upon entering town), after which time we’ll drive in a convoy to the Avatar Grove. Hike 1:30 – 3:30 pm. Cost: sliding scale - $25 to $100 per individual (children are free)

Naming rights for this new species of Bryoria or “Horsehair Lichen”

Award-winning Canadian poet Don McKay takes lichen-naming bid to $3,500

McKay is the author of twelve books of poetry and has been publishing since 1973. His poems are ecologically centred, inspired by the conflict between inspiration and spiritual, instinct and knowledge and he sees his writing as “nature poetry in a time of environmental crisis.”

The Pacheedaht First Nations Campground in Port Renfrew is located along the bay's long sandy beach at the mouth of both the Gordon and San Juan rivers.

Camping in Port Renfrew? Try the Pacheedaht Campground and RV park!

To get to the campground from Victoria take West Coast HWY #14 and turn RIGHT onto Deering rd immediately upon reaching Port Renfrew. Cross the single lane bridge over the San Juan River and once on the other side there is camp parking on both the left and right hand side of the road.

Canada’s Largest Tree – The Cheewhat Giant!

Click to see Canada's largest tree, a western redcedar named the Cheewhat Giant growing in a remote location near Cheewhat Lake within Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on southerwestern Vancouver Island! The clip also features new clearcuts and giant stumps of redcedar trees, some over 4 meters (14 feet) in diameter in the nearby Klanawa Valley and Nitinat Lake/Rosander Main region.

Victoria’s 12th Annual Ska Festival July 5th-9th

A big thanks goes out to the Victoria Ska Fest organizers for inviting the Ancient Forest Alliance to be a part of the event as well as donating a portion of the proceeds towards us! Read more to find out show times and locations!

A waterfall cascades through the old-growth redcedars in the endagered Avatar Grove.
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Canadian Student Takes Top Prize in International Environmental Journalism Competition with an Article on Avatar Grove

International winner Liz Welliver, whose article “Making a Stand for Avatar” captures the attempts to preserve a newfound swath of ancient old growth forests in BC, was among three youth to take home a prize in the Canadian leg of the competition.

Naming rights for this new species of Bryoria or “Horsehair Lichen”

Lichen: the new immortalization

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.

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June 14th – Rally to support Hul’quimi’num people’s fight against takeover of TimberWest

First Nations people of Eastern Vancouver Island will rally tomorrow against the sale of TimberWest due to lack of consultation within their traditional territories.

World’s Largest Douglas-fir Tree – The Red Creek Fir!

The tree and a small surrounding stand of trees currently receive "soft" protection through an Old-Growth Management Area, but legislated "hard" protection is needed in the form of a conservancy, park, or ecological reserve that also encompasses a much larger buffer area.