THANK YOU for the many events organized for Earth Day and throughout April that supported the AFA in raising funds and awareness!
Great News! The WestShore Chamber of Commerce representing almost 400 businesses in the western communites of Victoria in Langford, Colwood, Metchosin, View Royal, and Highlands, has joined the Port Renfrew and Sooke Chambers of Commerce calling on the provincial government to protect the old-growth forests of the endangered Central Walbran Valley for tourism. See their letter here: https://westshore.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Signed-statement-re-Walbran-Valley.pdf
Here's a new documentary by Capilano College film student Jordie Yeager, with the help of her fellow students, on the battle for Vancouver Island's old-growth forests, with a focus on the endangered Central Walbran Valley! See here: https://vimeo.com/164476946
On April 28th the Vancouver Natural History Society (Nature Vancouver) awarded the Ancient Forest Alliance's executive director Ken Wu for his years of old-growth forest activism. Past recipients of the Frank Sanford Award for Community Service include the late mountaineer and conservationist John Clarke, journalist Larry Pynn, and outdoor writer Jack Christie. Amazingly, the organization is 98 years old, dating back to 1918! They far predate the modern environmental movement, and many of the members are "ecologist elders" with tremendous knowledge and insight on a vast array of natural history subjects. Board members Daphne Nagorsen and David Cook presented the award to Ken.
400 people came out last Tuesday night (April 26) in Vancouver to the screening of Hadwin's Judgement, an amazing documentary based on the book The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant, a benefit event for the Ancient Forest Alliance. THANKS to Ariane Tisseur who organized this momentous event, for Elizabeth Yake (producer) and Doug Chapman (main actor) for supporting the event, for Angelina Thielmann for emceeing, to the Rio Theatre, to the raffle sponsors, to all the volunteers, and to the 400 people who came!
Tuesday April 26, 6:30pm (doors 6pm) Rio Theatre, Vancouver (1660 E Broadway, at Commercial Drive - see MAP) Tickets $15 – purchase online HERE or at the door (**note: 19+ event) Join us for a fundraiser screening of the award-winning film Hadwin’s Judgement, inspired by John Vaillant’s renowned book The Golden Spruce. The evening will also feature a slideshow presentation by the AFA about the state of BC's old-growth forests, a Q&A session with Elizabeth Yake (producer), Doug Chapman (lead actor – TBC), Ken Wu & TJ Watt (AFA), a raffle prize draw, and a drink bar! Proceeds go to support the Ancient Forest Alliance. See details HERE and buy tickets HERE. For more info, contact organizer Ariane Tisseur at arianet604@gmail.com
The Sitka Society for Conservation (SSC), the environmental fund of Sitka, Victoria's clothing and surf store, is raising funds for building materials and supplies for the Ancient Forest Alliance. The Ancient Forest Alliance is building a boardwalk in the Avatar Grove, Port Renfrew, to protect the old growth forest's understory, enhance visitor safety, and support eco-tourism. Please come out to these events on Earth Day at Sitka's downtown Victoria store location to help them raise the needed funds for the Ancient Forest Alliance! When: Friday, April 22 Where: Sitka store (1219 Government St – see map), downtown Victoria Morning Yoga at Sitka from 8-9am with Katie Thacker A playful vinyasa practice to wake up and celebrate our beautiful planet. Tickets are $10 dollars with all the proceeds going to the Sitka Society for Conservation (SSC) initiative, Ancient Forest Alliance Pathway to Preservation. 20% for the Trees On Earth Day (April 22nd) Sitka is going to contribute 20% of each sale to the SSC and the Ancient Forest Alliance Pathway to Preservation initiative. Your purchase can make a big difference!
A few days ago, 14 year old Taliesin came into our office with a $300 donation that he raised while busking with his accordion in North Vancouver over the past few months. See him playing his own song that he wrote while busking for us at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrrVKZTM2FU Taliesin had to choose a charity to support for his school philanthropy project, and we're most grateful that he chose us! Tali likes Art, Biology, and Physics, and has always had an interest in plants, and in fact for his school's science fair just built his own polygraph to measure the feelings of plants in response to various stimuli! His mom has also written a blog about Tali's project at: https://rickshawunschooling.blogspot.ca/2016/04/philanthropy-project.html We at the AFA are most grateful for the generosity and dedication of this young big tree enthusiast!
The Ancient Forest Alliance and UVic Environmental Law Centre's resolution calling on the province to establish a "Natural Land Acquisition Fund" to purchase and protect endangered ecosystems on private lands (using the "Pop for Parks" mechanism) was also passed today at the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) AGM. If implemented by the province, this will make it easier to purchase and protect places like Mount Horne - the endangered mountainside above Cathedral Grove at risk from Island Timberlands - and endangered forests, grasslands, wetlands, and ecosystems throughout BC on private lands. THANKS to the thousands of you who wrote letters, and to the Highlands, Victoria, and Saanich councillors who pioneered the original support for this, and for all the councillors today who voted for the fund!
Wow!! Some fantastic news: Today the resolution calling on the BC government to protect Vancouver Island's remaining old-growth forests was passed at the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) AGM, the umbrella organization of coastal municipalities! Thanks to Metchosin councillor and renowned forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon for drafting the resolution and for Moralea Milne and other councillors from Metchosin - and today councillors all over the coast - for supporting the resolution! This is a big leap forward in our campaign to end old-growth logging on Vancouver Island and beyond and to ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry instead.
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