Announcements

The great folks at the Tall Tree Music Festival donated 10 tickets to the AFA (our’s just sold out! Additional tickets available at www.talltreemusicfestival.com) to sell for their third-annual event happening this June 21, 22 & 23!  The fesitval (19+) is set in the rugged hills of Port Renfew not far from the Avatar Grove and features 3 nights of great live music, awesome DJ’s and amazing people! If you’ve been the previous years, you know this is not a weekend to miss! A HUGE thanks to the Tall Tree Society for their continued support towards the protection of BC’s ancient forests!

*You must be at least 19 years of age with two pieces of Government ID to enter the festival. No ID = no entry.

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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

• You must be at least 19 years of age with two pieces of Government ID to enter the festival. No ID = no entry.
• Gates open at 4:00 PM on Thursday, June 21st.
• Absolutely zero tolerance for drinking and driving. There will be road blocks present.
• There is no cell reception in Port Renfrew.
• There is no gas station in Port Renfrew: fill up at either Lake Cowichan or Sooke on your way.
• There will be no ATM on site. Bring cash.
• No pets allowed.
• No bottles or glass allowed.

Location: Brown’s Mountain, Port Renfrew

• June 21st, doors at 4pm
• June 22nd, doors at 10am
• June 23rd, doors at 10am

Camping: 

• 3 day Camping: $45.00
• 2 day Camping: $30.00

GETTING READY FOR TALL TREE:

Be prepared for camping:

Bring layers—Browns Mountain gets cold at night, even in the summer. Be prepared for coastal weather: both heavy rain and sunshine. Bring sunscreen. Bring a flashlight (or two) for the evening. Bring a tarp for your tent. Be prepared for insects. Bring water to stay hydrated.

Be ready to walk a lot:

After parking, you’ll have to walk your gear to the shuttle pickup, and once dropped off you’ll have to walk your gear to your camping site. Be prepared to have to walk through the gates. We’re on a mountain—be prepared to walk/trip/fall on uneven terrain. Campsites can be up to 1-2km from the main stage, so bring your walking shoes/sandals/calloused feet.

The parking area is separate from the camping area.

Do not leave valuables in your vehicle. All vehicles are parked at the base of the mountain and all festival attendees will be shuttled up to their campsites.

Summer is almost here and this is your chance to hike the Avatar Grove with three of BC’s finest naturalists!  University of Victoria entomologist and old-growth biodiversity specialist Dr. Neville Winchester, president of the Victoria Natural History Society Darren Copley (and former Goldstream Nature Centre chief interpreter) and the Royal BC Museum’s senior collections manager of entomology Claudia Copley will be along for the hike to talk about the tremendous diversity of creatures living in our incredible ancient forests!

Join these special guests as well as Ancient Forest Alliance organizers Ken Wu, TJ Watt, and Joan Varley on the hike through Avatar and learn how you can help in the campaign to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests!

TIME & PLACE:  Meet 2:00 pm in Port Renfrew at the Coastal Kitchen Cafe after which time we’ll drive in a convoy to the Avatar Grove.
*NOTE – Please park alongside the side road opposite the cafe parking lot. Sundays are a very busy time and we must leave room for the regular customer parking. Thank you!
HIKE:  2:30 – 4:30 pm
COST:  SLIDING SCALE – $20 to $200 per individual (children are free)
MAP:  Printable Tall Tree Tour map of Port Renfrew

Funds from this hike will go towards the Ancient Forest Alliance’s exciting new project to build a boardwalk in the Avatar Grove! A boardwalk is essential to help protect the forests’ ecological integrity and enhance visitor access and safety. For $100 you can sponsor a 1 metre section of the trail.

Donations can be made securely online at: https://16.52.162.165/boardwalk-donation.php

By credit card over the phone at:  250.896.4007

Or by mailing a cheque to the address listed here.

What can you expect from the trip?

–  To see some of the largest and strangest looking trees in BC, including “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree”!
–  To learn to identify some of the common rainforest trees, plants, lichens and fungi.
–  To learn about the wildlife – the wolves, cougars, elk, bears, Sasquatch (**sightings not guaranteed), birds, amphibians, and other creatures that inhabit the Avatar Grove.
–  To meet great new people and have an AWESOME TIME!

THINGS TO KNOW:

* Only those with moderate hiking abilities and who are comfortable on semi-rugged terrain, with a firm sense of balance, can attend this hike.
* All participants will be required to sign a waiver form.
* Participants must bring their own water, rain gear, hiking boots and wonderful attitude!
* Dogs must remain on a leash at all times – they can disturb wildlife including bears, elk, deer, cougars, wolves, raccoons, mink, and Sasquatch in the area.
* Be sure to support the local community by spending your dollars in Port Renfrew and Sooke!
* This event is a fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance which is in need of funding to build an Avatar Grove boardwalk and to continue its vital campaigns to protect BC’s ancient forests and forestry jobs.

If you can, please email us at info@16.52.162.165 to let us know how many of you are coming so we can get a sense of our numbers.

Join the Ancient Forest Alliance’s TJ Watt and Hannah Carpendale this SATURDAY, MAY 26TH for an old-growth hike to the 12-foot wide Lynn Creek Cedar and a grove of ancient redcedars by the Kennedy Falls!

Enjoy the great hike in the woods while learning about the ecology and politics of old-growth forests, the AFA’s campaign to protect them, and how YOU can help!

When: Meet at 9:45am at the intersection of Mountain Highway and Coleman St. in North Vancouver.   (See directions further down).

Hike duration: The hike will be approx. 10-12km in total and about 5 hours of hiking.  We expect to arrive back at our starting point between 4 and 5pm.

Hike Difficulty/Safety: This hike will be of moderate difficulty.  Most of the trail is flat along the side of a slope but hikers should be comfortable with uneven ground, crossing streams with some slippery rocks and going up and down small steep sections of trail. There is a slight chance of your feet getting wet as well if the creek levels are up so bring an extra pair of socks just in case! 
*All participants will be required to sign a waiver form*

Please bring: Warm clothes, rain-gear (it is Vancouver after all!), hiking boots, medical requirements, lunch & snacks, water, and a camera if you’d like! College Grants

Directions:

• By bus: This hike is an easy transit ride from Vancouver.  The #210 Upper Lynn Valley bus runs east from downtown (Burrard station), over the Second Narrows bridge, and stops at Phibbs Exchange before continuing up Mountain Highway towards Lynn Valley.  Get off at Coleman St.
• Car: If you are coming from the Second Narrows Bridge, take Exit 21 and follow Mountain Highway north towards Fromme Mt/Lynn Valley.  If you are coming from Lion’s Gate Bridge, take Marine Drive east, Capilano Rd north to Upper Levels/Hwy 1 east, exit onto Lynn Valley Rd, then turn left/north onto Mountain Highway and follow it up towards Fromme Mt/Lynn Valley.  Note: Parking is not allowed by non-residents north of Coleman St, and only for 2 hour intervals along Coleman, so best to park south of Coleman!

RSVP: Please contact Hannah (hannah@15.222.255.145) to reply if you’re planning to come or if you have any questions.  For any questions on the morning of the hike, please contact 1-604-250-4116.

Hope to see you there!

TJ Watt, Hannah Carpendale,
Ancient Forest Alliance.

For Immediate Release

May 8, 2012

Permission to build Avatar Grove boardwalk requested by the Ancient Forest Alliance from the BC Ministry of Forests

Port Renfrew, BC – Yesterday the Ancient Forest Alliance submitted a request to BC’s Ministry of Forests to build an official trail and boardwalk in the famed “Avatar Grove,” a monumental stand of old-growth redcedars and Douglas firs that was recently protected near the town of Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island. The proposal has the backing of the local Chamber of Commerce of Port Renfrew, who have sent in a letter of support for the project to the Ministry.

“A boardwalk is vital to increase visitor safety and to protect the Avatar Grove’s ecology by minimizing impacts to the understory vegetation and tree roots,” stated TJ Watt, the Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner who found the Avatar Grove over 2 years ago. “The Avatar Grove is a heavily visited old-growth forest and has quickly become like BC’s second Cathedral Grove. Already large numbers of tourists have been visiting the Grove this spring. We need to get this boardwalk done before the summer rush begins in July and August.”

A heavily used and well-worn “unofficial” trail already exists as a result of thousands of tourists who have hiked the Avatar Grove over the past two years. The Ancient Forest Alliance is requesting permission to build a boardwalk and steps in limited sections (ie. wet areas, steep areas, and at the base of the most popular trees) and erect some signs telling visitors to stay on the official trail and to pack out all litter to minimize damage to the area’s ecology. The estimated combined distance of the trail and boardwalk in the Upper and Lower Avatar Groves is estimated to be approximately 1 kilometer.

“An Avatar Grove boardwalk will help to bring more tourists into Port Renfrew, whose economy is diversifying and increasingly relying on ‘big tree tourism’ as an important revenue stream for local businesses,” stated Rose Betsworth, President of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce. “Visitor access and safety will increase significantly with a boardwalk and steps in the most difficult sections, such as the steep entry points into the Upper and Lower Avatar Grove from the road.”

The boardwalk will be engineered by qualified experts to match the safety standards of other heavily used ancient forest boardwalks on Crown lands, such as the Meares Island Big Trees Trail where tens of thousands of tourists hike each year and the boardwalk along the Wildside Trail on Flores Island which was partly funded by the Ministry of Forests.

The Avatar Grove was protected by the BC government in a 59 hectare Old-Growth Management Area in February after an extended 2 year campaign spearheaded by the Ancient Forest Alliance and the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce. Under the Forest and Range Practices Act, it is illegal to build trails on Crown lands without permission from the Forest Service.

See PHOTOS of the Avatar Grove at: www.ancientforestalliance.org/photos.php?gID=6

See an earlier Youtube clip at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_uPkAWsvVw