A massive old-growth redcedar tree found near the survey tape marked "Falling Boundary" in the unprotected Central Walbran Ancient Forest

Public Information and Community Forum to Save the Walbran Valley

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Tuesday, July 21, 2015, 7-9 pm, Fernwood Community Centre, 1240 Gladstone Avenue, Victoria, BC
The old-growth forests of the Central Walbran Valley are threatened with clearcut logging. This is one of the largest intact old-growth forests left on southern Vancouver Island, but is now at risk of being logged by Teal-Jones. See beautiful images of the valley and hear a variety of speakers at this free event hosted by the Friends of Carmanah-Walbran, Wilderness Committee, and Ancient Forest Alliance.

A Conservation Review of the Elphinstone Provincial Park Expansion Proposal

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Wayne McCrory – one of Canada’s leading conservation-biologists, has completed an ecological inventory of the 2,000Ha lower Elphinstone forests that is the subject of a park expansion & protection area. Learn about the unique features of this lower elevation, emerging old-growth forest… see intro and link below…

Elphinstone Conservation Review June 2015 (McCrory Wildlife Services) **VIEW via link at: https://www.loggingfocus.org/2015-research-reports/

INTRO and Background – Hans Penner

June 10, 2015, Public Meeting, Roberts Creek Hall

A CONSERVATION REVIEW OF THE ELPHINSTONE PROVINCIAL PARK EXPANSION PROPOSAL

Good evening and welcome to everyone here tonight.

We wish to acknowledge, with gratitude, that we are meeting on Sechelt First Nation Traditional Territory and that the study area of the Conservation Review is located on Sechelt and Squamish First Nations Traditional Territories.

The study area is located above the residential areas of Roberts Creek between the Town of Gibsons and the District of Sechelt. The 1500ha area was identified as an environmentally important site in The Land for Nature Project initiated in 1995. The 1500ha Park / Protected area proposal is included in the recently adopted Roberts Creek Official Community Plan. The area is also identified as a Community Interface Zone by the Ministry of Forests.

Logging activity in the 1500ha area has been very controversial. In 2012, the logging of block A87124, by the old Wagon Fest Trail, by BC Timber Sales (BCTS) and blocks EW 001 and EW 002, the Wilson Creek Forest, by the Sunshine Coast Community Forest (SCCF) resulted in a number of roadblocks, injunctions and finally in over a dozen arrests.

In June 2013 we first discussed the idea of a scientific study of the 1500ha Elphinstone Forest with BC Timber Sales and in July of that year we made a presentation to the SCRD Board with a request to support this study in order to have future decisions regarding this area based on sound scientific knowledge and community participation. At their July 25, 2013 meeting the SCRD Board passed resolution, 357/13, as follows:

“That the concept of a scientific study of the 1500ha of the Elphinstone Forest be supported in principle and that support be conveyed to the Provincial Government”.

In a letter to the Minister of Forests and the Minister of Environment the SCRD asked the Ministers to “advise their staff to initiate a discussion with our community and Regional District staff to explore how a study would proceed”. We still haven’t heard back from them!

In the fall of 2014 funding became available from a generous donor and we decided to proceed with the study. We were fortunate to make contact with Wayne McCrory and he agreed to do a Conservation Review of the area. Wayne conducted field studies, compiled and analysed existing data and has now completed a break-through report on our Elphinstone forest. He makes a compelling case for protection of this unique area.

Read more: https://www.loggingfocus.org/2015-research-reports/

AFA Office Hour Update

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HOURS: Tuesday & Wednesday, 11am – 5pm until July 21st. Then back to Tues, Wed, Thurs, 11-5
We’re located at the Central Building, 620 View St, 3rd floor #306, Victoria, BC (same building and room as Volunteer Victoria)
Stop in for cards, calendars, stickers, t-shirts, certificates, in-person donations, or to ask a question! We’d love to see you. View our online store for full product listing: https://16.52.162.165/store.php
Thanks!

Thank You to the Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC)!

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The Ancient Forest Alliance is most grateful to the Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) for their major support provided through their Community Contributions grant program. This funding support will allow the AFA to fully complete the Avatar Grove Boardwalk as a model for sustainable eco-tourism promoting old-growth forest conservation. See MEC's website at: www.MEC.ca

A hollowed out western redcedar stands amongst a sea of green ferns, salal, and other foliage in Goldstream Provincial Park.

JUNE 24: Old-Growth, Carbon & Climate – Rainforest Walk in Goldstream Park

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Date: Wednesday, June 24
Time: 7:00-8:30pm
Location: Goldstream Provincial Park – Meet at the first parking lot
Difficulty: Easy walk
Dogs must stay on leash
**By donation**
All participants will be required to sign a waiver to join the hike.

Join AFA’s co-founder Ken Wu and Sierra Club of BC’s forest and climate campaigner Jens Wieting for a rainforest walk in Victoria's Goldstream Provincial Park. See some of the largest old-growth trees in BC, learn about the plants and ecology there, and about state of BC’s globally endangered coastal temperate rainforest. Wieting will also explain the progress in protecting the Great Bear Rainforest and Clayoquot Sound, and the lack of forest stewardship in most of the province. Hear about what we must do to ensure that our forests provide long-term benefits instead of short-term profit and what climate change means for the future of our forests. In particular, learn how our forests have shifted from storing carbon to being a net emitter into the atmosphere and what we must do to reverse that trend, making our forests a central mechanism in fighting climate change and building a climate-friendly, low carbon future.

‘Old Growth of BC’ Slideshow by AFA’s Ken Wu at Big Tree Weekend!

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Date: Saturday June 20th
Time: 6:30-8:00pm
Location: Meet at the Stanley Park Ecology office, 610 Pipeline Road
Cost: $5 members/$10 non-members

Explore the ecology and conservation status of the most spectacular temperate rainforests in Canada with Ken Wu from the Ancient Forest Alliance.  Photographer TJ Watt will share his striking images of old growth forests – and the biggest trees and grandest groves – at this presentation.  

Register here

Big Trees Weekend in Stanley Park

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Vancouver, BC – Journey to the top of some of the biggest trees in Stanley Park during a weekend-long celebration of trees…really BIG trees! Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES), the BC Big Tree Committee and the Vancouver Aquarium host this June 20-21 event which offers unique insiders’ perspectives on these living giants. Catch a bird’s eye view from an arborist’s head cam as he climbs some of the Park’s biggest trees; hear tall tree tales from renowned ecologist and BC Big Tree Committee Chair, Andy MacKinnon; learn secrets of Stanley Park’s famous Hollow Tree, and witness the resiliency of the forest in a tour of the 2006 windstorm-affected areas.

“Stanley Park Ecology Society is thrilled to be offering the public so many, diverse opportunities to experience the many stunning trees in Stanley Park,” notes Celina Starnes, Public Education and Outreach Manager. “How often do you get to watch someone scale a massive old growth tree with climbing ropes and then get a live view of the tree’s top and its biologically rich micro-environment? Unless you’re an eagle, this view is a rare one.”

The Big Tree Committee administers the online BC Big Tree Registry whose mandate is “[to] identify, describe, monitor, and conserve the largest trees of each species within British Columbia, and to educate and enlist the help of its citizens in this task.” Event organizers hope the Big Trees Weekend will raise citizen’s awareness of the great trees in their own backyard and of the local and national forests in which these giants dwell.

About Stanley Park Ecology Society
For more than 26 years, SPES – an independent non-profit charity – has been a leading Park Partner in Stanley Park and Vancouver’s metropolitan region. Every year, our environmental educators connect thousands of people with nature through school and public programs, while our conservation team engages community volunteers in habitat restoration and wildlife monitoring. SPES advises the Vancouver Park Board and provides baseline information on conservation issues within the Park, including ecosystem integrity, Environmentally Sensitive Areas and Species at Risk.
www.stanleyparkecology.ca

Giant trees in the Lower Avatar Grove

JUNE 14: Avatar Grove Ancient Forest Walk with Dr. Andy MacKinnon

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Date: Sunday, June 14
Time/Location: Meet at 1:00pm at the Coastal Kitchen Café in Port Renfrew, then go in convoy to Avatar Grove. Hike from 2:00-4:00pm
Difficulty: Moderate. *All participants will be required to sign a waiver to join the hike
All dogs must be on a leash
Cost: Sliding scale $20 to $100

Come join Dr. Andy MacKinnon, one of Canada's foremost forest ecologists and co-author of the best-selling 'Plants of Coastal BC,' for an interpretive walk through Avatar Grove. Learn about the plants, fungi, lichens, trees, and ecology of old-growth forests. The AFA's Ken Wu and TJ Watt will also talk about the ecology and status of BC's old-growth forests and the AFA's campaigns to protect these forests. Also see the progress on the Avatar Boardwalk so far and learn about what upgrades and sections need to be finished.  This is a boardwalk fundraiser for the AFA to finish the last sections of boardwalk in the Avatar Grove – thank you for your generosity!

A hollowed out western redcedar stands amongst a sea of green ferns, salal, and other foliage in Goldstream Provincial Park.

JUNE 11: Goldstream Ancient Forest Walk with Dr. Andy MacKinnon

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Date: Thursday, June 11
Time: 7:00-8:30pm 
Location: Goldstream Provincial Park ~ Meet at the first (main) parking lot off of Highway 1
Difficulty: Easy walk
All dogs must be on a leash
**By donation**
All participants will be required to sign a waiver to join the hike

Join renowned forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon, co-author of the best-selling 'Plants of Coastal BC,' and the AFA's Ken Wu and TJ Watt, for a nature walk to learn about the plants, trees, lichens, mosses, fungi, ecology, and status of BC's old-growth forests.  Find out what you can do to help the Ancient Forest Alliance protect them!

JUNE 4: Old-Growth, Carbon & Climate – Rainforest Walk

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Date: Thursday, June 4
Time: 7:00-8:30pm 
Location: Stanley Park ~ Meet at 7:00pm where the Cathedral Trail meets North Lagoon Drive (see map: https://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/stanley-park/)
Difficulty: Easy walk
Dogs must stay on a leash
By donation. *All participants will be required to sign a waiver to join the hike

Join AFA's co-founder Ken Wu and Sierra Club of BC's forest and climate campaigner Jens Wieting for a rainforest walk in Vancouver's Stanley Park. See some of the largest old-growth trees in BC and learn about the plants and ecology there, as well as about the state of BC's globally endangered coastal temperate rainforest. Jens Wieting will explain the progress in protecting the Great Bear Rainforest and Clayoquot Sound, and the lack of forest stewardship in most of the province. Hear about what we must do to ensure that our forests provide long-term benefits instead of short-term profit and what climate change means for the future of our forests. In particular, learn how our forests have shifted from storing carbon to being a net emitter of carbon into the atmosphere, and find out what we must do to reverse that trend, making our forests a central mechanism in fighting climate change and building a climate-friendly, low carbon future.