Entries by TJ Watt

‘Back to the Roots’ — Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival Film Night

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Be sure to check out 'Back to the Roots', a forest-themed evening at this year's @Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF). AFA photographer TJ Watt will be on stage presenting the AFA's documentary produced by Roadside Films, the Climbing Big Lonely Doug Drone video, and a slideshow of his top images from the west coast. The night also features a peek at Daniel Pierce's Heartwood Documentree and a new film on the ancient forests of the Incomappleux Valley titled "Primeval" by Damien Gillis. Join us at The Rio Theatre on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 7:30pm (doors 6:30pm). Tickets available online HERE. Hope to see you there!

Comment: Tla-o-qui-aht demand protection of ancient forest

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Here's an amazing article by Tla-o-qui-aht band members Tsimka and Gisele Martin, speaking on behalf of the Tla-o-qui-aht Initiative for Interconnected Community Health, calling for the protection of the remaining old-growth forests in Tla-o-qui-aht territory in Clayoquot Sound and focused on concerns about logging at the Kennedy Flats (near the highway on the way to Tofino) and potentially at Tofino Creek. Photo taken at Kennedy Flats courtesy of Gisele Martin. Their territory also includes the famous Meares Island, home to some of the largest trees on Earth, the Clayoquot Valley, Kennedy Lake, and Kennedy Valley.

Seven Iconic Canadian Trees

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Canadian Geographic has listed "Canada's Gnarliest Tree", the burly redcedar in Avatar Grove, and the San Juan Spruce near Port Renfrew, which the Ancient Forest Alliance have popularized, as two of the most iconic trees in Canada! Take note that the San Juan Spruce is no longer the 2nd largest spruce in Canada in timber volume, as a large part of its main trunk broke off in a severe storm not long ago. Nonetheless it is still a spectacular tree worth visiting!

Bring On the Drones

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Here's a new article in The Tyee about the Ancient Forest Alliance's use of drone videos to highlight the beauty and destruction of old-growth forests in BC, specifically the new drone video about climbing Big Lonely Doug (Canada's 2nd largest-known Douglas-fir, surrounded by an old-growth clearcut by Teal-Jones in 2012).

Thank You to MEC!

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So many THANKS to the Mountain Equipment Co-op's staff (many of them from Victoria and Vancouver pictured here on our 2013 hike to the Lower Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew) for choosing the Ancient Forest Alliance again for their year-end staff donation! We're most grateful to this wonderful group of outdoor and nature enthusiasts for supporting us over so many years!!

Echo Lake’s Old-Growth Forest and Eagle Roost Under Threat!

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Here's a new article written by the AFA's Ken Wu for the Footprint Press, a naturalist/ environmental magazine serving the eastern Fraser Valley, about the endangered Echo Lake Ancient Forest east of Mission. While the south and west sides are protected by an Old-Growth Management Area, the north side and also the central "ancient redcedar valley" with the largest old-growth trees are all open for logging. So far the road-building has not begun, but many of the ancient trees have been spray-painted and surveyed for future cutblocks. Photos by the AFA's TJ Watt.

Avatar Grove Boardwalk damaged by windstorm – Completion launch delayed until Spring

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Damage to the famed Avatar Grove Boardwalk in the Lower Grove due to the hurricane-force winds during the October 15 storm has delayed the completion launch of the Avatar Grove Boardwalk until next spring. The Ancient Forest Alliance had literally just completed the boardwalk a week before the storm, after 3 years of hard work involving a hundred volunteers, and was about to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week to announce its completion – but now the launch will be delayed until the boardwalk can be repaired and the trail cleared, which will take several months due to the wet winter weather. The winter storm resulted in at least 30 trees crashing down over the Avatar Grove Trail in the Lower Grove, damaging sections of the boardwalk. Luckily none of the grove’s famed giant redcedars or Douglas-firs fell during the storm.

Avatar Grove boardwalk damaged by windstorm

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"Hurricane-force winds ripped through the area on Oct. 15 resulting in 30 trees crashing down over the Avatar Grove Trail in the lower grove area, damaging sections of the boardwalk.  None of the grove’s famed ancient Western redcedars or Douglas fir fell during the storm.  The Ancient Forest Alliance completed the boardwalk a week before the storm, in a project that took three years and involved hundreds of volunteers."

CBC News: Chinese-Language Ancient Forest Tours

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Here's the CBC News video coverage of the Chinese-Language Ancient Forest Tours program that we're developing, which aims to engage the half a million Chinese speakers in the Vancouver region to diversify and broaden the movement to protect old-growth forests!