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AVATAR GROVE HIKE – Thursday, Aug. 25th

Aug 22 2011/in Announcements

Date: Thursday, Aug 25th

Time: 12:00-3:00pm

Location: Meet AFA’s TJ Watt at the Coastal Kitchen Cafe in Port Renfrew.***NOTE – Please park along the side street opposite the Cafe to save the limited parking spaces for customers***

Cost: By Donation

PLEASE READ THE IMPORTANT INFORMATION BELOW

***Only those comfortable with hiking on rugged terrain with fallen
logs, tree roots, and no official trail, and with a firm sense of
balance, can come on the hike. All participants will be required to
sign a waiver form.

***Participants must also bring their own lunch & snacks, water, rain
gear, warm clothing, hiking boots and wonderful attitude!

***No dogs. They can disturb wildlife including bears, elk, deer,
cougars, wolves, raccoons, and Sasquatch in the area.

***Be sure to support the local community by buying food and other
items in the Tourist Info Centre, Coastal Kitchen Cafe, Real Goods Market, Port Renfrew General Store, and Clint’s Catering Food Stand (by the General Store).

Directions and a Google map to the Avatar Grove from Port Renfrew can
be found at: https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/ancient-forests/directions-to-avatar-grove/

Please let us know if you’re coming and how many people you’ll be bringing,
so we can get a sense of our numbers. You can email us at info@ancientforestalliance.org

A woman in a teal hoodie stands beside massive bigleaf maple with octopus-like branches at Royal Roads.

Sat. Aug 27: Nature Walk and Fundraiser at GREATER VICTORIA’S FINEST ANCIENT FOREST

Aug 18 2011/in Announcements

Nature Walk and Fundraiser with Victoria Natural History Society president Darren Copley and Royal BC Museum curator and entomologist Claudia Copley, and with the Ancient Forest Alliance’s Ken Wu and TJ Watt through the Spectacular ROYAL ROADS ANCIENT FOREST

Date: SATURDAY, AUGUST 27
Time: 1:00-3:00 pm
Donation Range: $15 to $100

Difficulty Level: EASY-MODERATE

Dogs must be leashed at all times.

Did you know that one of the most spectacular old-growth forests on Earth is at Royal Roads University by Victoria? We often seek grandeur far away from where we live – but the ancient forests of Royal Roads are among the most magnificent in existence, one of the largest tracts left within the extremely endangered Coastal Douglas Fir ecosystem (only 1% of this ecosystem remains as old-growth). Surprisingly, while many people have visited the Hatley Castle (where X-Men was filmed) few people have actually hiked through the incredible ancient forests around the university.

Join president of the Victoria Natural History Society Darren Copley (and former Goldstream Nature Centre chief interpreter) and Royal BC Museum curator, entomologist and naturalist Claudia Copley to learn about the tremendous diversity of plants, birds, trees, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, insects, and other creatures living in this incredible ancient forest. The Ancient Forest Alliance’s Ken Wu and TJ Watt will speak about the Ancient Forest Alliance’s campaign to protect the remaining endangered forests in BC.

We will walk through spectacular ancient redcedars, grand firs and Douglas firs, including visiting the 2nd largest Douglas fir tree in Greater Victoria (10 feet wide!), see some mind-blowing huge bigleaf maples and an enormous forked yew tree, and be done by 3:00 pm. You will not be disappointed!

***This event is a fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance which is in need of funding to continue its vital campaigns to protect BC’s ancient forests and forestry jobs. Bring friends and family!

If possible, please email us at info@ancientforestalliance.org so we can get a sense of our numbers.

Sun. Aug 28: LOWER MAINLAND Ancient Forest WALK and FUNDRAISER in Manning Park’s Magnificent SUMALLO GROVE

Aug 17 2011/in Announcements

Date: Sunday, August 28th
Time: 1:30-3:00 pm
Donation range: $20 to $100

Location: Meet at 1:30 at the Sumallo Grove parking lot and picnic area, which is also the beginning for the Skagit Valley Trail.

Park Map: https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/ecmanning/manning.pdf (note: it’s about 2 hour drive from Vancouver)

Park website: https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/ecmanning/#Location

Difficulty Level: EASY

Dogs must be leashed at all times.

Join Ancient Forest Alliance campaigners Ken Wu and TJ Watt and lichenologist Stu Crawford (tentative) on an easy nature walk and talk through one of the most incredible old-growth forests left in the Lower Mainland, the Sumallo Grove in Manning Provincial Park.

This grove is one of the most diverse ancient forests in the province, with Sitka spruce mixed in with Douglas firs and giant redcedars, and is in the Cascade Mountain Range which barely comes into Canada from the US. The Sumallo Grove is traditionally home to the endangered spotted owl (recently disappeared, as only 5 individuals now remain in BC’s wilds due to old-growth logging), as well as wolves, grizzlies, black bears, cougars, wolverine, elk, moose, deer, and a strange little rodent called a “mountain beaver”.

Learn about the ecology and the politics of the Ancient Forest Alliance’s campaign to protect the last ancient forests around the Lower Mainland and what you can do to help.

This area is also the start of the Skagit Valley Trail through Skagit Valley Provincial Park – a couple hours along the trail brings you to another phenomenal stand of giant Douglas firs and redcedars, and further still is an ecological reserve filled with rare, huge black cottonwoods! Hiking this trail is not part of this particular event, but more adventurous enthusiasts may want to hike it after our guided walk in Sumallo Grove.

Guest presenter bios:

Stu Crawford is an ecological consultant and one of the handful of lichenologists in BC. He received his masters degree in biology studying under ethnobotanist Dr. Nancy Turner at the University of Victoria on First Nations consumption and use of lichens (yes, you can eat some lichens! learn more on the hike…).

TJ Watt and Ken Wu are co-founders of the Ancient Forest Alliance. TJ Watt graduated from the Western Academy of Photography and Ken Wu from UBC’s Biological Sciences program specializing in Ecology.

***This event is a fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance which is in need of funding to continue its vital campaigns to protect BC’s ancient forests and forestry jobs.

If you can, please email us at info@ancientforestalliance.org to let us know how many of you are coming so we can get a sense of our numbers.

Announcements

Help AFA raise $250,000 by December 31st – we’re over halfway there!

Dec 15 2025

Support the protection of old-growth forests in BC through Indigenous-led conservation, science, and public action. Donate to help safeguard ancient forests.

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An aerial of a BCTS cutblock in the Nahmint Valley

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Chek News: Document reveals approval to harvest remnant old-growth in B.C.’s northwest

Dec 8 2025

BC Timber Sales has ended a policy protecting remnant old-growth in northwest B.C., citing First Nations’ positions, sparking concerns from ecologists and residents.

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Thank You to Our Silent Auction business Donors!

Dec 8 2025

Thank you to these local businesses for generously donating items and experiences to our first-ever online Silent Auction!

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Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaign director TJ Watt stands beside the fallen remains of an ancient western redcedar approximately 9 feet (3 metres) wide, cut down by BC Timber Sales in the Nahmint Valley near Port Alberni in Hupačasath, Tseshaht, and Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ First Nation territory. (2024)

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Statement on the Provincial Forest Advisory Council’s Interim Report – AFA & EEA

Nov 21 2025

The Provincial Forest Advisory Council’s (PFAC) interim report falls short of addressing the root causes of BC’s forestry crisis or outlining the bold, decisive actions needed to reverse it, warn the Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) and Endangered Ecosystem Alliance (EEA).

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