Entries by TJ Watt

Forestry Union President Calls on NDP to Protect BC Forests & Forestry Jobs

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Check out this opinion piece by Arnie Bercov, the president of the Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC), which represents thousands of forestry workers across BC. The PPWC has joined  in calling on the NDP government to start implementing major policy shifts to end raw log exports, incentivize the development of new second-growth mills and value-added facilities, protect old-growth forests, and support First Nations' land use planning and sustainable economic development

Opinion: Status quo a non-starter in B.C.’s forest industry

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Vancouver Sun Op-Ed by Arnie Bercov: Doug Donaldson understands better than most how neglected B.C.’s forests are, and how that neglect is mirrored in troubling job losses and missed employment opportunities in rural towns and First Nations communities. As B.C.’s forests minister, he is also the MLA for the vast Stikine riding where Highway 37 […]

Tall trees draw renowned artist to Saanich

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Check out this Saanich News article about artist and UVic visual arts associate professor, Kelly Richardson. Known for hyper-real digital films, Richardson is one of five artists commissioned to produce a large-format digital film short for the 50th anniversary of the invention of IMAX.  Her work will feature and bring attention to the plight of Vancouver Island's endangered old-growth forests. 

Capturing the art of nature and change

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Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests have inspired acclaimed digital artist Kelly Richardson to move to Victoria, to be closer to the inspiration the ancient stands of trees provide.

In particular, she has had her eye on Port Renfrew — dubbed the “tall-tree capital” of Canada — and is featuring it in a digital-art creation that will be shown at Imax theatres as part of a film series. The series will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Imax’s invention.

New Visual Arts Professor Creates Avatar Grove Film Project

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Internationally acclaimed artist Kelly Richardson, a new professor in UVic’s Department of Visual Arts, is bringing the old-growth forests near Port Renfrew sharply into focus with a new digital art project.

Created with the participation of the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), Richardson's large-format film will be shot in July at Port Renfrew’s Avatar Grove (a popular nickname for its Nuu-cha-nulth Pacheedaht name of T'l'oqwxwat) by Christian Kroitor, the grandson of IMAX inventor Roman Kroitor, and released on IMAX screens across Canada next year.

Port Renfrew’s Avatar Grove featured in national IMAX series

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Sooke News Mirror: A Victoria artist, recognized internationally, will showcase Port Renfrew’s old growth forests in a new IMAX project. Kelly Richardson, who visited Avatar Grove two years ago has chosen it to be featured in her upcoming digital art installation series, which will be projected on IMAX screens across the country in 2019. “Having […]

Internationally-acclaimed artist Kelly Richardson moves to Victoria, turns attention to “Tall Trees Capital” of Canada – Port Renfrew

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Vancouver Island’s famed old-growth forests near Port Renfrew – known as Canada’s “Tall Trees Capital” – have attracted the attention of internationally acclaimed artist Kelly Richardson, who will feature these ancient forests in an upcoming digital art installation to be projected on IMAX screens across the country as part of an upcoming large-format film series.

ACTION ALERT: Support Expanded Protection of the Endangered Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem in British Columbia!

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The BC government is seeking YOUR INPUT on their proposal to increase the amount of Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem protected on public (Crown) lands on Vancouver Island’s southeast coast and in the southern Gulf Islands.

The Coastal Douglas-Fir (CDF) ecosystem is home to the highest number of species at risk in BC and, with less than four percent of the region’s ecosystems currently protected by the province, the proposed protection measures are greatly needed. But by themselves, they're not sufficient to halt the loss of biodiversity from the region. 

Please take just a couple minutes to WRITE to the BC government, telling them you support their proposal to expand protections in the endangered Coastal Douglas-Fir ecosystem on Vancouver Island and in the Gulf Islands!

Policy Recommendations for Old-Growth Forest Protection, support for First Nations, and Sustainable Forestry Jobs in BC

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Policy Recommendations for Old-Growth Forest Protection, support for First Nations, and Sustainable Forestry Jobs in BC Background British Columbia's old-growth forests are an iconic part of the province’s identity and are home to the largest trees on Earth, surpassed only by the US redwoods in grandeur. A century of industrialized logging has resulted in over […]