TJ Watt

Campaign Director & Photographer - Executive Team

TJ Watt is a Co-Founder, Campaign Director, and Photographer with the Ancient Forest Alliance. Combining his passion for conservation with professional photography, TJ explores and documents endangered old-growth forests in BC to help see them saved. His images have been pivotal in protecting important areas, such as the renowned Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew, and exposing the before and after impacts of old-growth logging. From the country’s biggest trees to its widest stumps, TJ’s photos have been featured in museums, magazines, news stories, and art exhibits across Canada and worldwide.

In 2021, he was named a National Geographic and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer through his work with the Trebek Initiative. An avid ‘big-tree hunter,’ you’ll find him driving rough backroads and exploring remote regions of Vancouver Island in search of the last old-growth giants. In 2024, he stood on the TEDxVictoria stage and delivered a passionate talk about his life’s work titled One Last Shot to Protect Old-Growth Forests in British Columbia.

TJ was born and raised in beautiful Metchosin, BC, and graduated from the Western Academy of Photography in Victoria. A lifelong skateboarder, he enjoys many of the more adventurous activities his position at AFA provides! His favourite tree? Western redcedar.

Victoria Buzz: Old growth advocates call for protection of at-risk Vancouver Island forest

Jul 20 2026

The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) are calling for the protection of an at-risk old-growth forest on karst limestone in the Tahsish Valley, northern Vancouver Island, BC, known as the “Jewel of the Tahsish.”

News Coverage

In Photos: Old-Growth Forest on Karst in the Tahsish Valley

Jul 17 2026

Explore photos of this spectacular old-growth forest on karst limestone in the Tahsish Valley, northern Vancouver Island, BC.

Photo Gallery

Nationally Significant Old-Growth Karst Rainforest at Risk in BC

Jul 15 2026

Nationally Significant Old-Growth Karst Rainforest at Risk in BC Victoria, BC — Images and videos released today from Vancouver Island by the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) showcase the “Jewel of the…

Media Release