TJ Watt

TJ is a Co-Founder, Campaigner, and Photographer with the Ancient Forest Alliance. Combining his passion for conservation with professional photography, TJ explores and documents endangered ancient forests in BC to help save them. 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.