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Photos: Mossome Grove & Port Renfrew in the Snow

Mar 10 2025/in Photo Gallery

See photos from the magnificent Mossome Grove, standing hushed under a soft blanket of snow. The woods felt like a fairytale on this day, with glowing golden moss and flurries of soft snow drifting through shafts of sunlight.

This enchanting lowland ancient forest is home to towering old-growth Sitka spruce trees, ancient bigleaf maples, and wildlife such as deer, elk, wolves, cougars, and bears. Growing largely unprotected near Port Renfrew in Pacheedaht territory, it’s reminiscent of the majestic maple forests found in the Olympic National Park. Rare to begin with on Vancouver Island and virtually non-existent today, it was extra special to see this type of rainforest in a winter wonderland state

Winter magic in Mossome Grove. Port Renfrew, BC

The scenes around Port Renfrew were equally as magnificent as the February cold snap turned the coastal landscape into a stunning winter wonderland.

San Juan River looking toward Fairy Creek

Renfrew Creek

Fairy Lake

San Juan River

Fairy Lake

Polar vortex

The quest to protect old-growth forests in BC continues. Want to make a difference? Our new send-a-message campaign just launched—take a moment to send yours.

Thank you to our corporate matching donors!

Mar 5 2025/in Announcements, Thank You

We’d like to take this opportunity to offer a special thank you to our Benevity donors!

The ability to receive vital funding through corporate matching programs, such as with Benevity, is another positive aspect of becoming a registered charity.

Corporate matching is when companies financially match employees’ donations to a specific charity, such as AFA. Many employers offer this as a way to prioritize and encourage corporate social responsibility. So, when an employee makes a donation, their employer will match it.

Increase your impact through your workplace and check with your HR team to see if your employer offers corporate matching today!

Two people stand on a rock by the Fraser River in Kanaka Bar territory.

VIDEO: Inside Kanaka Bar’s Conservation Plan: Protecting Rare Ecosystems & Indigenous Culture

Feb 21 2025/in News Coverage, Video

We’re excited to share an amazing new video with you featuring the Kanaka Bar Indian Band’s proposed T’eqt’aqtn Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA), which is located in the Fraser Canyon about 3 hours from Vancouver, BC. The IPCA will protect 320 km2 of land – or about 98% of Kanaka’s unceded territory – including 120 km2 of some of the rarest and most diverse old-growth in BC.

Hear from Kanaka members as they discuss their vision and the ecological and cultural significance of this initiative, which is also one of the most advanced IPCA proposals being considered for legislated protection in the province.

Alongside our partners at the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation and Endangered Ecosystems Alliance, AFA has been working for years to provide key support from start to finish to help develop and establish the T’eqt’aqtn IPCA (zuminstm e tmíxʷ kt ƛ̓əq̓ƛ̓áq̓tn̓/“We care for the lands of T’eqt’aqtn”). This includes funding stewardship initiatives and capacity for land-use planning, recruiting large-scale philanthropic funding, and purchasing private lands of high conservation and cultural value.

Be sure to watch and SHARE this video far and wide!