Archive for month: November, 2021

We’re excited to share that AFA photographer TJ Watt was featured in CBC’s podcast, The Doc Project: Big Tree Hunt, which highlights his efforts to explore, document, and protect ancient forests in BC.

In September 2021, Ancient Forest Alliance visited the city of Powell River to explore the region’s remaining old-growth forests, and meet with local community members and the Tla’amin First Nation to hear their views on the conservation of old-growth forests in the region.  We experienced awe-inspiring landscapes, stunning ancient rainforests, and fascinating perspectives on old-growth conservation

Watch our new community spotlight video featuring the ancient forests of Mt. Freda and the Eldred Valley.

Located in Tla’amin First Nation territory, outside the town of Powell River, the Eldred Valley is legendary among rock climbers for its towering granite peaks while also supporting some of the last vestiges of old-growth forest in the region.

Located in the territory of the Tla’amin and shíshálh First Nations, and close to the town of Powell River, Mt. Freda is home to some of the oldest trees in Canada. High in the mountains, locked in by snow for much of the year, these forests are incredibly slow growing, delicate ecosystems. Some ancient yellow cedars logged on Mt. Freda were found to be over 1200 years old.

THERE WERE A FEW TIMES, as TJ Watt slogged through a sea of stumps and barren clearcuts, that he questioned whether anyone cared that trees, which had grown for centuries and supported intricate networks of species, had been destroyed forever.

Victoria photographer TJ Watt, whose photos documenting the loss of old-growth trees have been seen around the world, has won a grant named for former Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The Trebek Initiative grant will support the continuation of Watt’s “before” and “after” series, which depicts 800-to-1,000-year-old red cedars in the Caycuse Valley of southern Vancouver Island next to images of the stumps left behind after the trees are cut.

In British Columbia’s Nahmint Valley, an 11th-hour reprieve was issued this week for ancient forests that were slated for logging.

We’re hosting our virtual year-end update and fundraiser on Thursday, November 25, from 7-8 pm (PST) on Zoom. Join us to learn what we've been up to this past year and what's next for old-growth forests…