New Video! AFA’s TJ Watt’s TEDxVictoria Talk on Old-Growth Forests

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Earlier this year, TEDxVictoria returned to the stage with the theme “It’s up to us.” Ancient Forest Alliance photographer, campaigner, and co-founder TJ Watt was selected as one of 12 speakers. Like the famed TED Talks, TEDx (which has over 40 million followers on YouTube!) events host a series of speakers who highlight new ideas, challenges, or perspectives, but on a local level.

In his presentation, One Last Shot to Protect Old-Growth Forests In British Columbia, TJ takes us on a visual journey of his work as a conservation photographer, big tree hunter, and National Geographic Explorer. With stunning imagery and passionate storytelling, he shares his life’s mission: helping to secure permanent protection for endangered ancient forests in British Columbia. His talk also touches on how he tracks down giant trees, recent campaign successes, and what solutions are still needed. Be sure to watch and share it below!

A Note from TJ

“I’ve done many talks over the years, but none made me as nervous as this. How do you convey a topic as complex as old-growth forests and your life’s mission to protect them in just 15 minutes? It’s a lot of pressure – especially on a stage in front of 700 people! The opportunity to share my message, photos, and story with such a large audience, including the global reach that TEDx offers, was too important to pass up on, though.

I’ve dedicated the past 15 years to exploring and documenting endangered old-growth forests in BC to help see them saved. From uncovering groves of ancient giants to trudging up steep mountainsides or slogging through soaked clear-cuts, it’s been a beautiful and, many times, heartbreaking journey. It was an honour to share this story on the TEDxVictoria stage. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please share it with friends and family to help raise further awareness. Thanks to the TEDxVictoria organizers for including me and everyone’s encouragement along the way.”

Portrait of Ancient Forest Alliance photographer TJ Watt at TEDxVictoria

TJ at TEDxVictoria 2024 [o] Lillie Louise Photography

Feeling inspired?

 

Please SHARE TJ’s TEDxVictoria talk on social media and with friends and family to help expand its reach! Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=enF8Zf4EPNg

Or, donate to support Ancient Forest Alliance‘s work to protect old-growth forests in BC.

Support Endangered Old-Growth Forests This Giving Season!

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The old-growth forests of British Columbia are among the most magnificent, ancient, and ecologically diverse ecosystems in the world. They also need our urgent help to protect them. With Giving Tuesday (a global day where people give and celebrate generosity) just a week away, will you help us reach our goal of raising $15,000 to support old-growth protection? We’re most grateful for anything you can give. Our Giving Tuesday campaign runs from today, Tuesday, November 26, until Tuesday, December 3, 2024, and donations are tax-deductible.

Ways you can support

1. Give a monthly or one-time donation to Ancient Forest Alliance 🌲

As a small charitable organization, our work is driven by donations from individuals like you. By making a monthly or one-time donation, you’ll help us carry out critical work, including supporting First Nations partners in developing Indigenous Protected Area proposals that protect old-growth, exploring and documenting endangered forests, and building and strengthening relationships with non-traditional allies to create a broad-based movement of support for ancient forest protection.

Make a charitable donation today!

2. Pick up some AFA merchandise for yourself or a loved one 🛍️

From our 2025 calendars to our new toque and long-sleeve tee, there are many ways to show your love for the old-growth forests of BC! As we head into the giving season, beat the rush and treat yourself or a loved one to some great gifts while helping to support our work.

*Please note: Due to the current strike, we cannot ship orders through Canada Post. A pick-up option is available if you’re in the Victoria area. Shipping via FedEx is also available. See our store at the link below for more information.

Check out the AFA store!

Because of YOUR support, over the past few years, we have made historic progress toward supporting the protection of old-growth forests in British Columbia. AFA’s specific campaigns helped secure the $1-billion BC Nature Agreement, which brings forth major funding for nature conservation in BC, including a $100-million BC Old-Growth Fund to protect the grandest old-growth forests. The province’s commitment to protect 30% of the land area by 2030 also sets the stage to essentially double the amount of protected area in BC over the next five years.

This past summer, the Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, and BC NDP government also announced 760 square kilometres of new protected areas in Clayoquot Sound. The vast expansion of protection for Clayoquot, 40 years in the making, represents the largest old-growth forest protected areas victory in BC since the Great Bear Rainforest conservancies were announced in 2006. The BC government is now in discussions with dozens of First Nations across BC to establish Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), including in old-growth forests, totalling thousands of square kilometres.

However, our work is far from over. Going forward, your charitable giving will allow us to expand our work with key allies and First Nations, capture powerful new imagery, grow our hard-working team, and ensure we get the job done as effectively as possible. We’re most grateful for anything you can give.

Thank you for your support!

—The Ancient Forest Alliance team

Issy stands on a mountain with Peyto Lake in the background behind her.

Welcome our new Forest Campaigner, Issy Turnill!

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Issy joined AFA in the fall of 2024 as a Forest Campaigner, leaving the hustle of London for the mountains of Vancouver to be closer to the nature she’s passionate about protecting.

Her love for the outdoors started early, exploring the woodlands of Suffolk, England, and the cedar forests of southern France growing up. This early connection led her to study Anthropology to better understand the complex relationship between people and the natural world. Her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology included a semester abroad in Sydney, Australia, gaining an appreciation for Indigenous environmental knowledge, and her master’s degree in Environmental Anthropology focused on community-led conservation approaches.

For the past three years, Issy worked in London as an environmental communications consultant, raising awareness about climate and nature-based solutions. While she loved this work, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being far from the critical ecosystems she was advocating for, which sparked the move to Vancouver.

Now, Issy is thrilled to be helping protect irreplaceable old-growth forests in BC and spending her free time exploring the beauty of these ancient ecosystems firsthand.

Horne Mountain

Thank you to these incredible businesses!

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We would like to extend a sincere thank you to the following businesses for kindly supporting the old-growth campaign:

Ziptrek Ecotours Inc. — Whistler, which, inspired by their employees, donates 10% of merch and GoPro sales to ancient forest protection.
ZULA Jewelry + Design is donating $1 from every sale of their “Cedar” jewelry line.
Tales on Trails, who inspires folks to donate to Ancient Forest Alliance through their website.

As a business, there are many ways to support our incredibly important work! If you work at or own a business that cares about saving the endangered ancient forests of BC and would like to become a one-time or monthly donor, email info@16.52.162.165 to learn more!

A tree climber stands on the limb of Big Lonely Doug

Castle Giant & Big Lonely Doug – The Tree Projects Documentary Shoot

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Ancient Forest Alliance Photographer TJ Watt has been working with photographer Steve Pearce and canopy ecologist Jen Sanger of Tasmania’s The Tree Projects. The amazing duo has been capturing portraits of giant trees, including the Castle Giant in the Walbran Valley and Big Lonely Doug near Port Renfrew in Pacheedaht territory, as part of a new documentary film.

Steve Pearce, Jen Sanger, TJ Watt, Joseph Nizeti stand at the base of Big Lonely Doug.

Steve Pearce & Jen Sanger (The Tree Projects), Joseph Nizeti (Film director), and TJ Watt (AFA) stand at the base of Big Lonely Doug.

Steve has perfected a unique method of photographing giant trees around the world. It starts with establishing a suspended rope system that runs parallel to the tree trunk from the ground to near the top. From there, he raises and lowers his camera, capturing a series of high-resolution images later stitched together to create one final Tree Portrait. Often, people are placed at varying heights of the tree to provide a sense of scale. The result is stunning images that highlight the immense size, beauty, and grandeur of some of the world’s largest and oldest living trees, helping to raise awareness of the need to protect them and the forests they’re found within. See examples of their Tree Portraits.

Steave Pearce of The Tree Projects ready to hoist his camera

Steve ready to hoist his camera

The first location the crew filmed at was the famed Castle Giant in the unprotected Central Walbran Valley. At more than 16 ft (nearly 5 m) wide near its base with a massive candelabra-like canopy containing roughly two dozen spires, the Castle Giant is like a living fortress. It grows within the Castle Grove, perhaps the grandest remaining unprotected old-growth redcedar stand in Canada.

The Castle Giant tree in the Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island, BC

To create his unique Tree Portrait, Steve needed a subject tree with a clear view from the bottom to the top – a challenging thing to find in the dense rainforest! The Castle Giant, however, was the perfect fit. With some ninja-level climbing and rope work, the team got the system in place.

Instead of using a drone to capture photos, which is more susceptible to wind, rain and mist, Steve uses a cable and gimbal system with a high-resolution camera attached for better images and control. The professional climbers also use techniques that allow them to ascend the ropes themselves rather than the tree. No spurs are needed, and the few ropes that are used are removed after the climb, leaving the tree as it was. This blending of art and science is an amazing way to highlight a hidden world that humans rarely ever get to glimpse, with the ultimate goal of inspiring people to learn about and help protect endangered old-growth forests.

 

The push to protect the Walbran Valley, located two hours west of Lake Cowichan in Pacheedaht territory, has been ongoing for over three decades. Thankfully, the core of the Central Walbran Valley is currently under temporary logging deferral, providing time to help secure a long-term conservation solution for this spectacular place. Hopefully, the forthcoming film and Tree Portrait add a unique and powerful voice to these long-standing efforts.

The next location shoot was Big Lonely Doug, Canada’s second-largest Douglas-fir tree, which grows in the Gordon River Valley near Port Renfrew. Doug stands 66 m or 216 ft tall, is nearly 4 m or 13 ft wide near the base, and is likely around a thousand years old.

The sheer size of this tree always blows us away. You truly feel like an ant on a log when you’re beside it. For this Tree Portrait, TJ was positioned as a tiny person on the branch for scale. Best to not have a fear of heights when looking down from here!

A tree climber stands on the limb of Big Lonely Doug

TJ looking over a hundred feet down from a giant limb of Big Lonely Doug.

 

Despite dealing with windy weather, washed-out roads, and heaps of rain, the gentle fog that Steve needed for the perfect shot arrived and the project was ultimately a success. A huge thanks goes to climbers Ryan Senechal, Ryan Murphy, and Matthew Beatty for their expert planning, climbing, and rigging work.

Hats off  to the amazing film crew as well: Joseph Nizeti, Rob Innes, Fraser Johnston, Momme Halbe, Dan Batchelor, and Matt Maddaloni. It was impressive to see you pull this shoot together under challenging conditions.

We’ll be sure to share a link to the documentary film and the final Tree Portraits once they’re released!

Update: Canada Post Strike

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📩 An important update regarding the Canada Post strike as of Friday, November 15th!

Due to the strike, we cannot ship any merchandise orders through Canada Post. If you are in Victoria, in-person pick-up is available at our office at #205 – 620 View Street between 10am and 4pm, Monday through Thursday. No appointment is necessary. Alternatively, FedEx is offered as our next cost-effective shipping option if you wish to receive your orders on time.

If neither of the above shipping options works for you and you would still like to support our work this holiday season with gift giving, please consider donating toward one of our Adopt-a-Tree or Adopt-a-Grove e-certificates that can be emailed directly to your family or friends.

Otherwise, you can donate here to help protect the at-risk old-growth forests of British Columbia!

Ancient Forest Alliance is a registered charity supported by donations from our community and through our merchandise sales, with all proceeds supporting our ever-important work protecting endangered old-growth forests in BC.

We appreciate your support, and thank you for standing with us!

—The Ancient Forest Alliance team

A Farewell Note from AFA’s Ian Thomas

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I am profoundly grateful for my years as a Research and Engagement Officer at Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) both for the opportunity to help protect magnificent old-growth forests in BC and for the incredible group of people I’ve had the privilege of working with along the way. The AFA team comprises the most dedicated and passionate people, and I’m extremely proud to have been part of this amazing group.

Through my time at AFA, I’ve been privileged to explore some of the most beautiful ancient forests left on Earth and spent countless hours with some of the world’s oldest and largest living things. I came to this organization as a biologist with a deep love and concern for the wildlife and ecosystems of BC; AFA has provided me with the chance to give something back to the wild places that mean so much to me.

The human element has been no less amazing! The team at AFA is at once so heartfelt and passionate while also the most clear-eyed and pragmatic I’ve ever worked with. I’ve learned so much about change and advocacy from their strategy of carefully parsing policy and ecology to identify the exact barriers and gaps to conservation and finding the pathways through which change is possible. AFA’s dedication to community outreach and bringing people from all walks of life together to preserve these forests is unmatched. I will miss the warmth and camaraderie of the office and every staff member.

Though this work has forced me to witness the shocking devastation of these ancient, irreplaceable ecosystems, I’ve been deeply inspired and uplifted by the AFA team and the thousands of supporters helping us make historic progress for old-growth forests. This is the kind of work that humbles you and brings you close to what really matters: working with people and communities from all backgrounds and walks of life to foster a healthy living world for all the creatures that depend on it.

When I look at the scale of transformation in just the last few years – the hundreds of millions of dollars mobilized for conservation in BC and major protected areas being established or getting underway – it still stuns me how just a handful of dedicated folks in a small office in Victoria could play such a pivotal role in making our world a better place.

It is impossible to leave such an organization unchanged. I am moving on from AFA with a deep sense of hope, both for these old-growth forests that we have been at the forefront of protecting but also because I’ve seen firsthand the extraordinary power we can mobilize to safeguard native ecosystems while supporting sustainable, thriving communities.

I’m keeping a tight grip on my AFA alumnus card. Though my official role with AFA has (for the present) come to a close, I’m looking forward to supporting their work and mission in whatever ways I can and celebrating the many victories to come.

For the forests,

Ian Thomas

Ian at the base of the San Joseph Spruce, Canada’s largest spruce tree.