Avatar Grove

Artists unite to protect the planet

The movement will take the shape of a new festival, appropriately held April 20 to 22 during Earth Week. Creatively United for the Planet, a three-day, all-ages event, will mix entertainment with opportunities to support green charities, including Ancient Forest Alliance.  

Ken Wu and Jason Addy at a press conference at the Sooke Potholes on Mar. 1.

Park acquisition fund wanted

Different conservationist groups, at the Sooke Potholes on March 1, called on the B.C. government to form a land acquisition fund that would be dedicated to protecting park land.

AFA's Ken Wu and Friends of Stillwater Bluffs' Jason Addy holding a press conference with the Times Colonist and CTV at the Sooke Potholes calling for a BC Park Acquisition Fund.

Eco group urges B.C. to re-form park fund – Organization highlights CRD’s model

Using a backdrop of parkland bought by the Capital Regional District, an environmental group on Thursday called on the provincial government to set up a park acquisition fund similar to that of the CRD.

Gary Murdoch stands beside flagged redcedar trees in the Cathedral Grove Canyon. Environmentalists are calling on the government to create a BC Park Acquisition Fund which would help purchase old-growth forests and sensitive ecosystems on private lands.

B.C. conservationists call for provincial park acquisition fund

Forest advocates from all over the coast press the B.C. government for a conservation fund, urging private owner Island Timberlands to delay logging until they can purchase priority lands

Shaw TV’s The Daily – Avatar Grove Protected

Watch the report on the protection of the Avatar Grove!

CHEK News – Avatar Grove Protected

Watch the local news coverage of the Avatar Grove's protection!

Avatar Grove

CBC Radio: All Points West radio interview with the AFA’s Ken Wu on Avatar Grove

It's a grove of 900 year-old cedars near Port Renfrew and has attracted the attention of everyone from eco-tourists to Al Jazeera.The BC government announced Avatar Grove will be protected from logging. Ken Wu is celebrating this decision. He has spent years advocating for preservation of the area. He is the co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance.

A hiker takes photos of a giant redcedar in the lower Avatar Grove.

B.C. Auditor-General faults government for failing to protect forests

Avatar Grove, so named by environmentalists inspired by the Hollywood eco-fable Avatar, has become a tourism attraction due to its fantastically shaped western red cedars, including one tree nicknamed “Canada's Gnarliest Tree” for its massive burls.

AFA Photographer TJ Watt relaxes in a giant redcedar the day he and a friend discovered the now endangered Avatar Grove.

Island version of Avatar Grove given provincial protection

Avatar Grove, a unique stand of centuries-old Douglas firs and red cedars, will be at the heart of an expanded, 59-hectare old-growth management area, Forests Minister Steve Thomson said Thursday. The decision follows a public review period, with 232 out of 236 comments favouring protection.

Avatar Grove

Les bûcherons ne pourront pas couper les arbres anciens de la forêt Avatar Grove

Victoria accorde à la zone Avatar Grove un statut de protection d'environ 59hectares. Le secteur abrite des cèdres rouges et des sapins de Douglas, dont certains ont plus de 500 ans, qui devaient être coupés par une compagnie forestière.