There is air, there is fresh air, and then there is the brisk, briny, oxygen-thick air that rides in on wild ocean waves.
That’s the air you’ll breathe when you round the tip of southern Vancouver Island and follow the Pacific Marine Circle Route. This 158-mile scenic drive begins in Victoria, hugs the western coastline to Port Renfrew, then travels across the island to Cowichan Bay before returning to B.C.’s capital.
You could drive it in a day, but don’t. Take time to enjoy the natural beauty, outdoor adventures and fine food and wine along the route. Consider these nine locations where Oregonians can, quite literally, come up for air. College scholarships for women
Capital start (Victoria)
Even before you’ve left Victoria’s burbs, the circle route’s attractions begin. Wildplay West Shore Victoria, seven miles from downtown, offers a treetop obstacle course featuring wobbly bridges, suspended rope swings, tightropes, ladders, cargo nets and other fun challenges. Two miles farther, on the grounds of Royal Roads University, is Hatley Park National Historic Site, a beautifully preserved Edwardian estate complete with castle.
Wildplay West Shore Victoria, 1767 Island Highway, wildplay.com. Hatley Park National Historic Site, 2005 Sooke Road, hatleypark.ca.
Ultra outdoors (East Sooke)
One moment you’re hiking the sea-sprayed shoreline, the next climbing bluffs covered with salal, kinnikinnick and Oregon grape, the next descending into ravines thick with Douglas fir and Sitka spruce. The six-mile Coast Trail in East Sooke Regional Park is considered one of Canada’s premier — and rugged — day hikes. Multiple access points make shorter walks possible.
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For a screaming good time, try Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours’ eight-line forest canopy course. Toast your bravery post-tour with a shot of “Adrenaline” — cranberry juice, raspberry vodka and Sour Puss raspberry liqueur — at the 17 Mile Pub next door.
If lazing on sun-warmed rock is more your thing, visit Sooke Potholes Regional Park, where ice-age-carved canyons and polished rock pools (the “potholes”) offer clear, cold water for swimming.
East Sooke Regional Park, crd.bc.ca/parks/eastsooke. Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours, 5128C Sooke Road, adrenalinezip.com. Sooke Potholes Regional Park, https://www.crd.bc.ca/parks-recreation-culture/parks-trails/find-park-trail/sooke-potholes
Splurging and seaweed (Sooke)
“I want to immerse my guests in British Columbia — the food, the art, the scenery,” says Frederique Philip, owner, along with husband Sinclair, of the much-celebrated Sooke Harbour House. Spoil yourself with an oceanfront room including private fireplace and dinner in the award-winning restaurant, where the focus is on seafood, wine and local, organic ingredients including herbs, edible flowers and vegetables from the inn’s own gardens.
At low tide, take a tour of the ocean’s garden in front of the inn with Diane Bernard, aka “the Seaweed Lady.” On my two-hour tour, Bernard, who supplies chefs with edible seaweed and makes a line of seaweed-based skin care products called Seaflora, has our group taste different seaweed (surprisingly not gross) and rub the gel-like substance found on rockweed (a kind of marine aloe vera) on our skin.
Sooke Harbour House, 1528 Whiffen Spit Road, sookeharbourhouse.com. Seaflora wild seaweed tour, sea-flora.com.
Make a point (West Coast Road)
Bob Liptrot, owner of Tugwell Creek Honey Farm and Meadery, has been keeping bees for 50 years and making mead for his family for 35. Taste the results when you stop by (Wednesday to Sunday, April to October) for free samples.
There’s something intoxicating about a restaurant where binoculars are provided on each table. Point-No-Point Resort is the perfect stop for lunch (think creamy seafood chowder, cold smoked albacore tuna, seafood linguine) or, if a private cabin with no television, Internet or cellphone service appeals, a stay.
Tugwell Creek Farm and Meadery, 8750 West Coast Road, tugwellcreekfarm.com. Point-No-Point Resort, 10829 West Coast Road, pointnopointresort.com
Surf’s up (Jordan River)
Originally a logging camp, Jordan River is ground zero for surfers seeking ride-worthy waves. Looking for lunch? Locals recommend the laid-back Shells Fish and Chips.
Further on, popular China Beach, part of the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, is a great place to see roaring surf and, if you’re lucky, whales, seals and sea lions. This is also the southern trailhead for the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, a 29-mile route that rivals the West Coast Trail, with two significant differences: No reservations are required, and there are multiple access/bail-out points. Sombrio Beach, farther north, is another sweet surf spot.
Shells Fish and Chips, 11950 West Coast Road, Jordan River. Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, https://bcparks.ca/explore/parkpgs/juan_de_fuca/
Trails and fish tales (Port Renfrew)
It’s hard to tell who likes Port Renfrew more: the fishers who come to town to enjoy exceptional salmon and halibut fishing or the hikers who end (or begin) their epic treks on the Juan de Fuca or West Coast Trail.
At low tide, hike the 1.7-mile Botanical Loop to Botanical Beach to peer into rich tide pools filled with anemones, urchins, starfish and other colorful sea creatures. Reserve a cabin at the Port Renfrew Resort and join hungry hikers and fishers downing platters of fresh crab and pitchers of beer on the resort’s deck.
Port Renfrew, portrenfrewcommunity.com. Port Renfrew Resorts, 17310 Parkinson Road, portrenfrewresorts.com
Canada’s biggest trees (Avatar Grove)
They are spectacularly tall and wide and old. The western red cedars, Douglas firs and Sitka spruce trees of Avatar Grove, 20 minutes outside Port Renfrew, have become a magnet for big-tree tourists since being discovered in 2009 by TJ Watt, founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance.
Thanks to the alliance, Avatar Grove is now protected and mapped. But with no location signage and primitive trails, you’ll need a map (available on the alliance website) or, better yet, a guide, to find the giants. Watt is happy to lead groups to the most impressive trees, including, in his words, “Canada’s gnarliest.”
Keen for more? Detour off the circle route on poorly maintained gravel roads to see the Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas fir) and the San Juan Sitka spruce (Canada’s largest).
Ancient Forest Alliance, ancientforestalliance.org
Bountiful (Cowichan Valley)
The Cowichan Valley boasts Canada’s only maritime Mediterranean climate. No wonder the local farms and wineries produce such a mouth-watering bounty, including white asparagus, balsamic vinegar, organic greens, artisan cheeses (including water buffalo mozzarella), spirits and fine wines.
Make a reservation for lunch at Merridale Estate Cidery, where you can learn about cider- and spirit-making, then wash down tasty bistro offerings with a flight of six cider samplers.
Tourism Cowichan, https://www.tourismcowichan.com, Merridale Estate Cidery, 1230 Merridale Rd., https://www.merridale.ca
By the bay (Cowichan Bay)
Brightly painted clapboard buildings sit on stilts at the edge of the water in Cowichan Bay. Stroll the main (only) street and gather provisions for a hyper-local meal: fine artisan cheese from Hilary’s Cheese and Deli; a baguette made from locally grown and milled Red Fife wheat at True Grain Bread; spot prawns from Cowichan Bay Seafoods; and wild berry ice cream from the Udder Guy’s Ice Cream Parlour.
Check in to the Oceanfront Suites at Cowichan Bay, where every room has a kitchen. Slide open your oceanfront windows, lay out your bounty, uncork a bottle of local wine and make a toast — to fresh food, fresh adventures and fresh air.
Shops on Cowichan Bay Road: Hilary’s Cheese and Deli, True Grain Bread, truegrain.ca; Cowichan Bay Seafood, cowichanbayseafood.com; Udder Guy’s Ice Cream Parlour, udderguysicecream.com. Oceanfront Suites at Cowichan Bay, 1681 Cowichan Bay Rd., oceanfrontcowichanbay.com.
Map: https://www.hellobc.com/road-trips/pacific-marine-circle-route/
Campaign for a $40 million per year BC Park Acquisition Fund Launched
/in AnnouncementsThis week the Ancient Forest Alliance has launched a campaign, including a new petition at www.BCParkFund.com, the distribution of 50,000 new brochures (see https://www.bcparkfund.com/newsletter/June-2012-Parks-Acquisition.pdf) into key communities, and outreach to other conservation and recreation groups, calling on the BC Liberal government to establish a dedicated “BC Park Acquisition Fund” of at least $40 million per year. The fund would raise $400 million over 10 years, enabling the timely purchase of significant tracts of endangered private lands of high conservation, scenic, and recreation value to add to BC’s parks and protected areas system.
“While private land trusts are vital for conservation, they simply don’t have the capacity to quickly raise the tens of millions of dollars needed each year to protect enough endangered lands within the short time spans many areas have left to exist – only governments have such funds,” stated Ken Wu, executive director of the Victoria-based Ancient Forest Alliance (www.ancientforestalliance.org).
In years past, the BC government has designated funds for new park acquisition in the provincial budget; however, the funds have been inconsistent and simply too small.
“While $40 million might sound like a lot, let’s remember that it is only 1/1000th or 0.1% of the $40 billion provincial budget. Surely we can afford to invest 0.1% of the provincial budget to protect our endangered species and invest in BC’s scenic and recreational assets?” Wu asked.
Across British Columbia many of the most endangered ecosystems are found on private lands. These include the Coastal Douglas-fir and Dry Maritime forests on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, with their Mediterranean-like climates, twisted arbutus trees on rocky outcrops, and extremely scarce ancient groves; dry ecosystems of BC’s southern interior, including the fragrant Ponderosa Pine forests, sage-filled grasslands, and semi-arid “pocket desert”; waterfowl-filled wetlands and rich deciduous forests in the Fraser Valley and along our largest rivers; and other magnificent but endangered ecosystems threatened with encroaching developments.
These private lands are jam-packed with endangered species. They are also usually found closest to BC’s main population centers, making them highly accessible locations for environmental education and nature tourism. As such, they are potentially the highest-value additions to BC’s world-class parks and protected areas system.
Several of the most endangered old-growth forests on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast survive on the hundreds of thousands of hectares of private corporate lands owned by Island Timberlands and until recently, TimberWest, who sold their BC lands in 2011 to two public sector pension funds managed by the BC Investment Corporation (BCIMC) and the federal Public Sector Investment Management Board (PSIMB). Old-growth forests are vital for supporting endangered species, tourism, the climate, clean water and salmon, and many First Nations cultures.
Island Timberlands in particular in 2012 is aggressively moving to log many of its lands with the highest conservation and recreational values. Conservationists are calling on the company to back off from such plans, while at the same time calling on the BC government to help purchase the companies’ contentious private lands.
Earlier this week a meeting between Cortes Island residents and Island Timberlands representatives resulted in a deadlock in negotiations due to fundamental disagreements about the company’s logging plans that might start as soon as this September. See: https://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/earthmatters/no-negotiation-progress-island-timberlands%E2%80%99-plans-log-cortes-island-forests
Contentious old-growth and mature forests (see spectacular PHOTOS in each link) that are threatened by Island Timberlands on their private lands include:
Contentious forests on former TimberWest lands, now owned by the BCIMC and the PSIMB, include:
Park acquisition funds already exist on a smaller scale in several Regional Districts in BC, including the Capital Regional District (CRD) in the Greater Victoria region which has a Land Acquisition Fund of about $3.5 million each year. The CRD has spent over $34 million dollars since the year 2000 to purchase over 4500 hectares, including lands at Jordan River, the Sooke Hills, the Sooke Potholes, Thetis Lake, Mount Work, and Mount Maxwell on Salt Spring Island, to expand their system of Regional Parks.
“Studies have shown that for every $1 spent by the BC government on our parks system, another $9 in tourism revenues is generated in the provincial economy,” stated TJ Watt, campaigner and photographer with the AFA. “What better investment can we make than to spend a very modest sum each year to protect Beautiful British Columbia? A BC Park Acquisition Fund would be a win-win for everyone.”
Timber Workers and Conservationists Join Forces to Oppose Proposed Logging of Protected Forest Reserves in BC’s Interior
/in Media ReleaseTwo seemingly disparate organizations, the Pulp, Paper, and Woodworkers of Canada (PPWC), a union of several thousand BC sawmill and pulp mill workers, and the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), a non-profit conservation organization, are joining forces to defend forest reserves in BC’s Interior from a BC government proposal to log them (see https://thetyee.ca/News/2012/06/18/Timber-Survey/). The two organizations will work together to raise public awareness and to encourage their members and supporters to write-in and speak up during the government’s public consultation process that ends on July 15.
“Many people believe forestry workers only think about the short term and care nothing about the bigger picture or future generations. That’s simply not the case. Our members live in the communities that would be directly affected by this short-sighted proposal and some of them took part in the land use planning processes twenty years ago that established these forest protections. They hunt, fish, hike, recreate, enjoy the scenery, and have a quality of life that is enhanced by the standing forests in their regions,” stated Arnold Bercov, Forest Resource Officer of the PPWC. “Opening up protected forest reserves is short-term thinking that does nothing to solve the fundamental problem of unsustainable overcutting, massive wood waste, a lack of value-added manufacturing, and a failure to diversity rural economies. We need to come up with more sustainable strategies that instead factor in the big picture and the long-term health of communities.”
Currently the BC Liberal government is floating a proposal to potentially open up protected forest reserves for logging in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region of BC’s Interior. These threatened forest reserve designations include:
The proposed environmental deregulation would take place in four Timber Supply Areas (TSA’s): the Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake, and Lakes (Burns Lake area) TSA’s.
The rational for opening up forest reserves is that an impending shortfall of available timber to support local sawmills will soon take effect, known as the “falldown effect”. This shortfall in timber in relation to an overcapacity in the forest industry is the result of the loss of mature forests from the pine beetle infestation (caused by climate change and forest fire suppression) and a massive industry expansion in the Interior in recent years to take advantage of the infestation.
Instead, the workers-conservationist alliance of the PPWC and AFA is calling for a forest and jobs transition strategy involving ending massive wood waste in clearcuts (see https://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/wood-wasted-bc-logging-sites-would-fill-cross-country-truck-convoy-%E2%80%94-twice), incentives for value-added wood manufacturing industries, support and training for unemployed forestry workers, and economic diversification of rural communities.
“Opening up protected forest reserves to try to prop-up an unsustainable industry a bit longer is like burning parts of your house for firewood after depleting all other wood sources. In the end, you’re a lot worse off,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance co-founder. “You can’t just reward unsustainable behaviour with more unsustainable behaviour. The Interior timber industry’s unsustainable expansion and overcutting of beetle-affected wood and vast areas of living trees should not be rewarded with more of the same inside of our protected forest reserves now – that’s the worst, most myopic course of action possible and it’s precisely the type of mindset that has brought this planet to the ecological brink. If this option is chosen, it’ll be the albatross hanging around the responsible politicians’ or party’s necks heading into the next BC election.”
Over the next several weeks, until July 15, the Special Committee on Timber Supply, consisting of four BC Liberal MLA’s and three NDP MLA’s, will be holding public hearings in rural communities in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region to gather public input and to meet with key stakeholders. Committee Chair John Rustad, BC Liberal MLA for Nechako Lakes, has already spoken in the media with a heavy bias towards justifying logging in forest reserves. While the committee will meet individually with stakeholders in Vancouver from July 9 to 11, no public hearings have been scheduled in Vancouver or Victoria despite the issue’s importance to all British Columbians.
“This is a precedent-setting proposal of provincial significance. If the falldown in timber volumes in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region can be used to justify opening protected forest reserves there, it could also be used to open up protected forest reserves across much of the province where the timber industry’s massive overcutting of lower elevation old-growth forests has caused a huge falldown effect and extensive mill closures everywhere,” stated Ken Wu. “We’re going to encourage everyone across the province to speak up on this one and to prepare for an extended and relentless battle if need be.”
Opposition against opening up protected forest reserves has come from such organizations as the BC Association of Professional Foresters, BC Wildlife Federation, BC Wilderness Tourism Association, the Healthy Forests Healthy Communities initiative, BC’s main environmental groups including the Ancient Forest Alliance, and now the Pulp, Paper, and Woodworkers of Canada union.
AFA’s tickets for Tall Tree Music Festival SOLD OUT! Proceeds to help fund Avatar Grove Boardwalk!
/in AnnouncementsThe great folks at the Tall Tree Music Festival donated 10 tickets to the AFA (our’s just sold out! Additional tickets available at www.talltreemusicfestival.com) to sell for their third-annual event happening this June 21, 22 & 23! The fesitval (19+) is set in the rugged hills of Port Renfew not far from the Avatar Grove and features 3 nights of great live music, awesome DJ’s and amazing people! If you’ve been the previous years, you know this is not a weekend to miss! A HUGE thanks to the Tall Tree Society for their continued support towards the protection of BC’s ancient forests!
*You must be at least 19 years of age with two pieces of Government ID to enter the festival. No ID = no entry.
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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
Location: Brown’s Mountain, Port Renfrew
Camping:
GETTING READY FOR TALL TREE:
Be prepared for camping:
Bring layers—Browns Mountain gets cold at night, even in the summer. Be prepared for coastal weather: both heavy rain and sunshine. Bring sunscreen. Bring a flashlight (or two) for the evening. Bring a tarp for your tent. Be prepared for insects. Bring water to stay hydrated.
Be ready to walk a lot:
After parking, you’ll have to walk your gear to the shuttle pickup, and once dropped off you’ll have to walk your gear to your camping site. Be prepared to have to walk through the gates. We’re on a mountain—be prepared to walk/trip/fall on uneven terrain. Campsites can be up to 1-2km from the main stage, so bring your walking shoes/sandals/calloused feet.
The parking area is separate from the camping area.
Do not leave valuables in your vehicle. All vehicles are parked at the base of the mountain and all festival attendees will be shuttled up to their campsites.
THURSDAY & FRIDAY, JUNE 14-15 : HELP! VOLUNTEERS GREATLY NEEDED in Victoria!
/in AnnouncementsAvatar Grove’s popularity creates need for trail
/in News CoverageThousands of pairs of feet have tromped through Avatar Grove over the last two years, and now the old-growth forest needs some protection from too much love.
The Ancient Forest Alliance, which brought Avatar Grove into the public eye and lobbied for its protection, has asked the Forests Ministry for permission to build a trail and boardwalk.
“We want to improve accessibility and it’s vital to protect the ecology and make sure the tree roots don’t get worn down,” said TJ Watt, the Alliance campaigner who discovered the grove.
The group, supported by the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, is prepared to fundraise and use volunteer labour to build the trail, Watt said.
However, it is looking for an engineer to help with design and safety issues, he said.
A heavily used but unofficial trail has been created through the trees by the many tree-loving tourists and a boardwalk and steps are particularly needed in wet areas and steep slopes, Watt said.
“People visit year-round, even in rain and snow,” he said. “I would guess tens of thousands of people have been there now.”
Platforms will be created beside the much-photographed gnarly tree and other areas of particular significance.
Access from the logging road is currently hit-and-miss, so signs are needed to direct people to the one-kilometre trail and to ask them to stay on the trail and pack out litter, Watt said.
Rosie Betsworth, Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce president, said the public passion for tall trees has put the community – which previously relied largely on logging – back on the map.
“I am surprised how many people love big, old trees,” she said.
“People are coming to Port Renfrew, not just for camping and fishing, they are coming in herds to see tall trees. – One of the most often asked questions in Port Renfrew is ‘How do you get to Avatar Grove?’ ”
The grove was discovered by Watt in February 2010. Shortly afterward, much of it was flagged for logging, as only 24 per cent was protected through an old-growth management area.
The Ancient Forest Alliance spearheaded a campaign to protect the grove and, earlier this year, the provincial government expanded the old-growth management area to 59 hectares.
The environmental group is now fighting to protect another stand of old-growth trees it has nicknamed Christy Clark Grove.
Watt said that even though he immediately saw the magic of the gnarly trees, ferns and massive Douglas firs, he is surprised the area has become such a tourism driver.
“But it is the most fantastic place for people to come and experience B.C.’s coastal rain forest,” he said.
Times Colonist article: https://www.timescolonist.com
HIKE – SUNDAY, JUNE 10: Avatar Grove Biodiversity Hike and Boardwalk Fundraiser!
/in AnnouncementsSummer is almost here and this is your chance to hike the Avatar Grove with three of BC’s finest naturalists! University of Victoria entomologist and old-growth biodiversity specialist Dr. Neville Winchester, president of the Victoria Natural History Society Darren Copley (and former Goldstream Nature Centre chief interpreter) and the Royal BC Museum’s senior collections manager of entomology Claudia Copley will be along for the hike to talk about the tremendous diversity of creatures living in our incredible ancient forests!
Join these special guests as well as Ancient Forest Alliance organizers Ken Wu, TJ Watt, and Joan Varley on the hike through Avatar and learn how you can help in the campaign to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests!
TIME & PLACE: Meet 2:00 pm in Port Renfrew at the Coastal Kitchen Cafe after which time we’ll drive in a convoy to the Avatar Grove.
*NOTE – Please park alongside the side road opposite the cafe parking lot. Sundays are a very busy time and we must leave room for the regular customer parking. Thank you!
HIKE: 2:30 – 4:30 pm
COST: SLIDING SCALE – $20 to $200 per individual (children are free)
MAP: Printable Tall Tree Tour map of Port Renfrew
Funds from this hike will go towards the Ancient Forest Alliance’s exciting new project to build a boardwalk in the Avatar Grove! A boardwalk is essential to help protect the forests’ ecological integrity and enhance visitor access and safety. For $100 you can sponsor a 1 metre section of the trail.
Donations can be made securely online at: https://ancientforestalliance.org/boardwalk-donation.php
By credit card over the phone at: 250.896.4007
Or by mailing a cheque to the address listed here.
What can you expect from the trip?
– To see some of the largest and strangest looking trees in BC, including “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree”!
– To learn to identify some of the common rainforest trees, plants, lichens and fungi.
– To learn about the wildlife – the wolves, cougars, elk, bears, Sasquatch (**sightings not guaranteed), birds, amphibians, and other creatures that inhabit the Avatar Grove.
– To meet great new people and have an AWESOME TIME!
THINGS TO KNOW:
* Only those with moderate hiking abilities and who are comfortable on semi-rugged terrain, with a firm sense of balance, can attend this hike.
* All participants will be required to sign a waiver form.
* Participants must bring their own water, rain gear, hiking boots and wonderful attitude!
* Dogs must remain on a leash at all times – they can disturb wildlife including bears, elk, deer, cougars, wolves, raccoons, mink, and Sasquatch in the area.
* Be sure to support the local community by spending your dollars in Port Renfrew and Sooke!
* This event is a fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance which is in need of funding to build an Avatar Grove boardwalk and to continue its vital campaigns to protect BC’s ancient forests and forestry jobs.
If you can, please email us at info@ancientforestalliance.org to let us know how many of you are coming so we can get a sense of our numbers.
It’s a land of giants in Port Renfrew’s ancient Avatar Grove
/in News CoverageLink to original article: www.straight.com/article-697301/vancouver/its-land-giants-ancient-avatar-grove
The grey, weathered sticks poking out the top of the thick forest canopy near Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island’s southwest tip look like so much deadwood to an untrained eye.
But for a man whose aim is to draw visitors to the Island’s western shore to experience the awesomeness of old-growth forests, they are a reason to get excited. Very excited.
“Those candelabra tops are a sign of ancient red cedars,” explains T J Watt, cofounder of the Ancient Forest Alliance, a nonprofit organization that seeks to protect old-growth forests and ensure sustainable forestry jobs in B.C. “When I first saw those tops, I knew instantly we’d found a treasure trove of big trees.”
The year was 2009 and Watt was searching for an accessible, iconic stand of trees that could serve as a rallying point in a marketing campaign for the Alliance. He found the tract—dubbed Avatar Grove by the group after the James Cameron blockbuster film (brilliant marketing move or majorly lame, you decide)—just a 10-minute walk/scramble from a logging road and a 20-minute drive from the logging town of Port Renfrew. Single Mothers College Grants
Thanks to the Alliance’s efforts, this extraordinary collection of giant western red cedars, Douglas firs, and Sitka spruces—which is estimated to be between 500 and 1,000 years old—has been mapped and is now protected from logging.
Finding the grove takes a bit of pre-trip planning. There are no location markers, just paper signs in plastic sleeves and flagging tape hanging from trees to mark the starting point of the primitive trail. Visitors will need a map (available for free on the Alliance’s website) or, better yet, a guide to find the giants. Watt is happy to lead groups to the most impressive trees, including, in his words, “Canada’s gnarliest”: a massive cedar with a four-metre-wide trunk that’s distorted with lumpy, bumpy fungus growth.
These days, the Alliance is busy fundraising to build a boardwalk to the grove. “We’ve had thousands of people visit in the last two years,” Watt says. “Steps on the trail’s steeper sections and boardwalks around the most popular trees will protect the forest floor and make it easier for people of all abilities to see the incredible trees.”
Keen for more? The Alliance’s website also provides directions to the Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas fir) and the San Juan Sitka spruce (Canada’s largest spruce), both located near Port Renfrew and accessible via poorly maintained gravel roads.
Access: To reach Avatar Grove, take Highway 14 to Port Renfrew (just over a two-hour drive west of Victoria) and follow the directions at the Ancient Forest Alliance website
Avatar Grove Boardwalk – DONATIONS NEEDED!
/in AnnouncementsAvatar Boardwalk – Donations Needed!
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For $100 YOU CAN HELP SPONSOR the construction of 1 METER section of BOARDWALK in Avatar Grove – and help us build a stronger, more powerful ancient forest movement!
ANY amount you can donate will add up, whether $10 or $1000!
Please DONATE securely online at: https://ancientforestalliance.org/avatar-grove-boardwalk-now-completed-and-open/
By PayPal Here
Or phone us at: 250-896-4007
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As most of you know, the magnificent Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew was protected in February as the result of a two year campaign spearheaded by the Ancient Forest Alliance and the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce (see our previous media release here)
Thanks to the support of thousands of people over the past two years like yourself, Avatar Grove’s magnificent trees and its elk, wolves, bears, cougars, owls, and salamanders are now safe from logging!
WHY is a BOARDWALK NEEDED in AVATAR GROVE?
1. To maintain its ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY. Strategically placed boardwalk sections will prevent the wetter areas from turning into mud pits and protect the roots of the most popular trees.
2. To increase visitor SAFETY. Parts of Avatar Grove are somewhat difficult to navigate, particularly the entry points from the road embankment into the forest. Boardwalk and some wooden stairs will greatly increase access and safety for young and old hikers alike.
3. To support the local ECO-TOURISM economy. A boardwalk will draw more visitors from around the world who will spend their dollars in local businesses. It’s VITAL that rural communities like Port Renfrew see economic benefits from protecting old-growth forests, otherwise such communities that are often lacking in employment and revenues have less incentive to challenge the status quo of large-scale industrial resource extraction and logging that historically built their economies. Avatar Grove has been an experiment in environmental campaigning that has been successful so far. We need to complete this project. It is a model that can be applied in other areas.
An INTENSE Two Year Campaign
Since the AFA’s founding just over 2 years ago, Avatar Grove quickly became BC’s highest profile ancient forest campaign in a decade – and it has supercharged the overall movement to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests.
Over two years AFA activists organized countless hikes, events and rallies involving thousands of people, while thousands more visited the Grove on their own. Avatar Grove quickly became BC’s “second Cathedral Grove”. We partnered with the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce to build support among local businesses. A seemingly endless torrent of news media covered our campaign, including the international TV news network Al-Jazeera, the Toronto Star, West World Magazine, and the Globe and Mail, where we made the front page.
Finally, on February 16, 2012, the BC government announced that Avatar Grove would be protected in an Old-Growth Management Area which prohibits logging and mining. See our media release at: https://ancientforestalliance.org/afa-supports-avatar-groves-protection-calls-for-provincial-old-growth-plan/
But we have much work to do – our main goals are to protect ALL of BC’s endangered old-growth forests through a new Provincial Old-Growth Strategy and to ensure sustainable forestry in second-growth stands. In the Avatar Grove, we’d ultimately like to see a provincial conservancy or park which will show up on a provincial highway map and which are the most secure protective designations.
Previously it was illegal under the Forest and Range Practices Act to build a trail in the Avatar Grove when it was slated for logging. However, with its recent protection, we’re now requesting permission from the Ministry of Forests to do so. We don’t anticipate this will be a problem – however, as a new, small organization, raising the funds will be a challenge.
PLEASE HELP SPONSOR a TRAIL and BOARDWALK in AVATAR GROVE
We are asking for YOUR generous support to help us build a kilometer long trail and boardwalk in Avatar Grove.
For $100 YOU CAN HELP SPONSOR the construction of 1 METER section of BOARDWALK in Avatar Grove – and help us build a stronger, more powerful ancient forest movement. ANY amount you can donate will add up.
Please DONATE online at: https://ancientforestalliance.org/avatar-grove-boardwalk-now-completed-and-open/ or phone us to donate at: 250-896-4007
THANK YOU for continuing to stand up for BC’s magnificent Ancient Forest Heritage!
– Ken Wu, TJ Watt, Joan Varley, Hannah Carpendale, Chris Lambden
Ancient Forest Alliance
Lower Mainland Old-Growth Hike – Sat., May 26th: Lynn Creek Cedar & Kennedy Falls Cedar Grove!
/in AnnouncementsJoin the Ancient Forest Alliance’s TJ Watt and Hannah Carpendale this SATURDAY, MAY 26TH for an old-growth hike to the 12-foot wide Lynn Creek Cedar and a grove of ancient redcedars by the Kennedy Falls!
Enjoy the great hike in the woods while learning about the ecology and politics of old-growth forests, the AFA’s campaign to protect them, and how YOU can help!
When: Meet at 9:45am at the intersection of Mountain Highway and Coleman St. in North Vancouver. (See directions further down).
Hike duration: The hike will be approx. 10-12km in total and about 5 hours of hiking. We expect to arrive back at our starting point between 4 and 5pm.
Hike Difficulty/Safety: This hike will be of moderate difficulty. Most of the trail is flat along the side of a slope but hikers should be comfortable with uneven ground, crossing streams with some slippery rocks and going up and down small steep sections of trail. There is a slight chance of your feet getting wet as well if the creek levels are up so bring an extra pair of socks just in case!
*All participants will be required to sign a waiver form*
Please bring: Warm clothes, rain-gear (it is Vancouver after all!), hiking boots, medical requirements, lunch & snacks, water, and a camera if you’d like! College Grants
Directions:
RSVP: Please contact Hannah (hannah@15.222.255.145) to reply if you’re planning to come or if you have any questions. For any questions on the morning of the hike, please contact 1-604-250-4116.
Hope to see you there!
TJ Watt, Hannah Carpendale,
Ancient Forest Alliance.
Vancouver Island circle route: Drink in the wine, the scenery, the air
/in News CoverageThere is air, there is fresh air, and then there is the brisk, briny, oxygen-thick air that rides in on wild ocean waves.
That’s the air you’ll breathe when you round the tip of southern Vancouver Island and follow the Pacific Marine Circle Route. This 158-mile scenic drive begins in Victoria, hugs the western coastline to Port Renfrew, then travels across the island to Cowichan Bay before returning to B.C.’s capital.
You could drive it in a day, but don’t. Take time to enjoy the natural beauty, outdoor adventures and fine food and wine along the route. Consider these nine locations where Oregonians can, quite literally, come up for air. College scholarships for women
Capital start (Victoria)
Even before you’ve left Victoria’s burbs, the circle route’s attractions begin. Wildplay West Shore Victoria, seven miles from downtown, offers a treetop obstacle course featuring wobbly bridges, suspended rope swings, tightropes, ladders, cargo nets and other fun challenges. Two miles farther, on the grounds of Royal Roads University, is Hatley Park National Historic Site, a beautifully preserved Edwardian estate complete with castle.
Wildplay West Shore Victoria, 1767 Island Highway, wildplay.com. Hatley Park National Historic Site, 2005 Sooke Road, hatleypark.ca.
Ultra outdoors (East Sooke)
One moment you’re hiking the sea-sprayed shoreline, the next climbing bluffs covered with salal, kinnikinnick and Oregon grape, the next descending into ravines thick with Douglas fir and Sitka spruce. The six-mile Coast Trail in East Sooke Regional Park is considered one of Canada’s premier — and rugged — day hikes. Multiple access points make shorter walks possible.
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For a screaming good time, try Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours’ eight-line forest canopy course. Toast your bravery post-tour with a shot of “Adrenaline” — cranberry juice, raspberry vodka and Sour Puss raspberry liqueur — at the 17 Mile Pub next door.
If lazing on sun-warmed rock is more your thing, visit Sooke Potholes Regional Park, where ice-age-carved canyons and polished rock pools (the “potholes”) offer clear, cold water for swimming.
East Sooke Regional Park, crd.bc.ca/parks/eastsooke. Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours, 5128C Sooke Road, adrenalinezip.com. Sooke Potholes Regional Park, https://www.crd.bc.ca/parks-recreation-culture/parks-trails/find-park-trail/sooke-potholes
Splurging and seaweed (Sooke)
“I want to immerse my guests in British Columbia — the food, the art, the scenery,” says Frederique Philip, owner, along with husband Sinclair, of the much-celebrated Sooke Harbour House. Spoil yourself with an oceanfront room including private fireplace and dinner in the award-winning restaurant, where the focus is on seafood, wine and local, organic ingredients including herbs, edible flowers and vegetables from the inn’s own gardens.
At low tide, take a tour of the ocean’s garden in front of the inn with Diane Bernard, aka “the Seaweed Lady.” On my two-hour tour, Bernard, who supplies chefs with edible seaweed and makes a line of seaweed-based skin care products called Seaflora, has our group taste different seaweed (surprisingly not gross) and rub the gel-like substance found on rockweed (a kind of marine aloe vera) on our skin.
Sooke Harbour House, 1528 Whiffen Spit Road, sookeharbourhouse.com. Seaflora wild seaweed tour, sea-flora.com.
Make a point (West Coast Road)
Bob Liptrot, owner of Tugwell Creek Honey Farm and Meadery, has been keeping bees for 50 years and making mead for his family for 35. Taste the results when you stop by (Wednesday to Sunday, April to October) for free samples.
There’s something intoxicating about a restaurant where binoculars are provided on each table. Point-No-Point Resort is the perfect stop for lunch (think creamy seafood chowder, cold smoked albacore tuna, seafood linguine) or, if a private cabin with no television, Internet or cellphone service appeals, a stay.
Tugwell Creek Farm and Meadery, 8750 West Coast Road, tugwellcreekfarm.com. Point-No-Point Resort, 10829 West Coast Road, pointnopointresort.com
Surf’s up (Jordan River)
Originally a logging camp, Jordan River is ground zero for surfers seeking ride-worthy waves. Looking for lunch? Locals recommend the laid-back Shells Fish and Chips.
Further on, popular China Beach, part of the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, is a great place to see roaring surf and, if you’re lucky, whales, seals and sea lions. This is also the southern trailhead for the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, a 29-mile route that rivals the West Coast Trail, with two significant differences: No reservations are required, and there are multiple access/bail-out points. Sombrio Beach, farther north, is another sweet surf spot.
Shells Fish and Chips, 11950 West Coast Road, Jordan River. Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, https://bcparks.ca/explore/parkpgs/juan_de_fuca/
Trails and fish tales (Port Renfrew)
It’s hard to tell who likes Port Renfrew more: the fishers who come to town to enjoy exceptional salmon and halibut fishing or the hikers who end (or begin) their epic treks on the Juan de Fuca or West Coast Trail.
At low tide, hike the 1.7-mile Botanical Loop to Botanical Beach to peer into rich tide pools filled with anemones, urchins, starfish and other colorful sea creatures. Reserve a cabin at the Port Renfrew Resort and join hungry hikers and fishers downing platters of fresh crab and pitchers of beer on the resort’s deck.
Port Renfrew, portrenfrewcommunity.com. Port Renfrew Resorts, 17310 Parkinson Road, portrenfrewresorts.com
Canada’s biggest trees (Avatar Grove)
They are spectacularly tall and wide and old. The western red cedars, Douglas firs and Sitka spruce trees of Avatar Grove, 20 minutes outside Port Renfrew, have become a magnet for big-tree tourists since being discovered in 2009 by TJ Watt, founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance.
Thanks to the alliance, Avatar Grove is now protected and mapped. But with no location signage and primitive trails, you’ll need a map (available on the alliance website) or, better yet, a guide, to find the giants. Watt is happy to lead groups to the most impressive trees, including, in his words, “Canada’s gnarliest.”
Keen for more? Detour off the circle route on poorly maintained gravel roads to see the Red Creek Fir (the world’s largest Douglas fir) and the San Juan Sitka spruce (Canada’s largest).
Ancient Forest Alliance, ancientforestalliance.org
Bountiful (Cowichan Valley)
The Cowichan Valley boasts Canada’s only maritime Mediterranean climate. No wonder the local farms and wineries produce such a mouth-watering bounty, including white asparagus, balsamic vinegar, organic greens, artisan cheeses (including water buffalo mozzarella), spirits and fine wines.
Make a reservation for lunch at Merridale Estate Cidery, where you can learn about cider- and spirit-making, then wash down tasty bistro offerings with a flight of six cider samplers.
Tourism Cowichan, https://www.tourismcowichan.com, Merridale Estate Cidery, 1230 Merridale Rd., https://www.merridale.ca
By the bay (Cowichan Bay)
Brightly painted clapboard buildings sit on stilts at the edge of the water in Cowichan Bay. Stroll the main (only) street and gather provisions for a hyper-local meal: fine artisan cheese from Hilary’s Cheese and Deli; a baguette made from locally grown and milled Red Fife wheat at True Grain Bread; spot prawns from Cowichan Bay Seafoods; and wild berry ice cream from the Udder Guy’s Ice Cream Parlour.
Check in to the Oceanfront Suites at Cowichan Bay, where every room has a kitchen. Slide open your oceanfront windows, lay out your bounty, uncork a bottle of local wine and make a toast — to fresh food, fresh adventures and fresh air.
Shops on Cowichan Bay Road: Hilary’s Cheese and Deli, True Grain Bread, truegrain.ca; Cowichan Bay Seafood, cowichanbayseafood.com; Udder Guy’s Ice Cream Parlour, udderguysicecream.com. Oceanfront Suites at Cowichan Bay, 1681 Cowichan Bay Rd., oceanfrontcowichanbay.com.
Map: https://www.hellobc.com/road-trips/pacific-marine-circle-route/