June 18th, 2024
The Guardian
See the original article here
Ancient Forest Alliance photographer TJ Watt’s award-winning image of a giant old-growth cedar on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound was also featured alongside the other winning images in The Guardian. Click the image below to see the full story and list of winning images!
For Immediate Release
June 21, 2024
Ancient Forest Alliance Photographer TJ Watt awarded Royal Geographical Society Earth Photo 2024 prize for Image of the Enormous Tree in Clayoquot Sound, Canada, featured on CNN and in The Guardian.
The award coincides with the largest old-growth protected areas victory in decades announced earlier this week in Clayoquot Sound, including for the forest pictured.
Ancient Forest Alliance Photographer and Campaigner TJ Watt has received an award in Earth Photo 2024, an international photography competition currently on display at the Royal Geographical Society in London, UK. His award-winning image, titled Flores Island Cedar, features a gargantuan redcedar tree – perhaps the most impressive tree in Canada – with Tyson Atleo, an Indigenous Hereditary Representative of the local Ahousaht people, standing next to the tree’s base providing a sense of scale. Watt located the enormous tree in 2022 on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound in the unceded territory of the Ahousaht on western Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The contest, which saw over 1900 entries from around the world and 11 award winners, celebrates photography and moving images that tell compelling stories about our planet, its inhabitants, its beauty, resilience and fragility.
“I’m thrilled and honoured to have received an award in the Earth Photo 2024 contest. I always hope my images of old-growth forests reach as wide an audience as possible, inspiring people and raising global awareness of the need to protect them. The tree in the winning image is the largest one I’ve ever found in nearly 20 years of searching for big trees in BC. It’s more than 17 feet (5 meters) wide near its base, 151 feet tall (46 meters), and likely well over a thousand years old, given its size. Unlike most other trees, it grows wider as it gets taller, making it perhaps the most impressive tree in the country when you’re standing before it. In the photo, Ahousaht Hereditary Representative Tyson Atleo stands alongside the mammoth-sized trunk, adding a sense of scale during our visit to the tree in 2023”, stated TJ Watt, Photographer & Campaigner with the Ancient Forest Alliance.
Watt’s award-winning image, Flores Island Cedar, features an enormous redcedar tree – perhaps the most impressive tree in Canada – with Tyson Atleo, an Indigenous Hereditary Representative of the local Ahousaht people, standing at the tree’s base providing a sense of scale.
Coincidently, the photo award announcement happened to closely coincide with the biggest old-growth protected areas victory in decades when, earlier this week, the leadership of the Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, and BC NDP government declared the protection of 76,000 hectares of land in new conservancies in Clayoquot Sound near Tofino, BC. Most of the lands committed for protection are comprised of some of the grandest and most intact coastal old-growth temperate rainforests on Earth, including the forest where Watt’s winning photo was captured.
“It’s not always the case that the forests featured in my photographs have a happy ending. But in this case, I’m so grateful that they do. The announcement of the new conservancies in Clayoquot is incredible news, and I extend my deepest gratitude to the leadership and vision of the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht people, who’ve now secured protection for some of the grandest old-growth rainforests on Earth in their territories. Their proper care and stewardship go back thousands of years, and as a result, one can still find themselves standing in magnificent ancient forests home to trees that have lived for more than a millennium. A special thanks to Tyson Atleo and the Ahousaht Guardians for their time spent with me in the woods as well”, stated Watt.
Watt’s image was specifically awarded the National Trust Attingham Award for images that show the work or impact of volunteers protecting habitats under the threat of climate change. A second image of Watt’s titled Fallen Giants, featuring him laying atop a freshly fallen old-growth redcedar tree cut down in Quatsino territory on northern Vancouver Island, was also shortlisted in the competition. Both images were part of a body of work Watt created with support from the Trebek Initiative, which also named him a National Geographic and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer.
The winning images of Earth Photo 2024 have also attracted international attention, with high-profile features in The Guardian and CNN. BC-based photographer Taylor Roades was also awarded for her series Alaska Rust Rivers.
To view the collection of winning images online, visit the Royal Geographical Society website or the Parker Harris website.
“Congratulations to all the shortlisted and winning photographers for their stunning and thought-provoking images. Photography is a powerful tool for raising public awareness about the many issues our fragile Earth faces. Thanks to the Royal Geographical Society, Parker Harris, Forestry England, and all those who made Earth Photo possible, helping to get these images and messages out in front of the world”, stated Watt.
Earth Photo was jointly created in 2018 by Forestry England, The Royal Geographical Society and Parker Harris, one of the leading visual arts consultancies in the UK. For those looking to view the images in person, they will be on display at the Royal Geographical Society in London, UK, from June 18 – August 21, 2024, with additional exhibit times listed here.
For Immediate Release
June 19, 2024
Biggest Old-Growth Protected Areas Victory in Years: Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and BC NDP Government Declare Protection of 76,000 hectares in Conservancies in Clayoquot Sound.
Conservationists are applauding the leadership of the Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and BC NDP government for yesterday declaring the protection of 76,000 hectares of land – an area about the size of Manning Provincial Park – in new conservancies in Clayoquot Sound near Tofino. Most of the lands committed for protection are comprised of some of the grandest and most intact coastal old-growth temperate rainforests on Earth, and the new protected areas will represent the largest old-growth forest protected areas victory in BC since the Great Bear Rainforest conservancies were announced in 2006. The historic milestone also includes major support from provincial, federal and conservation sources to facilitate sustainable economic development opportunities for the communities to facilitate their economic and social well-being.
Ahousaht Hereditary Representative Tyson Atleo looks toward an ancient redcedar deemed the “most impressive tree in Canada” on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound.
“This is truly a historic and great day – it warms my heart and makes me feel a deep contentment inside to see this vision finally come to fruition. This is a huge old-growth victory for the people and ecosystems in Clayoquot Sound, and for the people of BC and for the world. We greatly applaud the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht leadership for moving forward with their visions to protect the old-growth ecosystems in their territories, while working to build sustainable economies, and we give great thanks to the BC NDP government, the federal Liberal government and organizations like Nature United for supporting their initiatives. I expect the Clayoquot conservancies will further inspire many other communities across BC and Canada to undertake increased protection of the ecosystems in their territories to support their cultures and their people’s well-being, while working to build sustainable economies”, stated Ken Wu, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance executive director.
“I extend my deepest gratitude to the leadership and people of the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation for bringing their incredible conservation visions to life in Clayoquot Sound. The embattled coastal rainforests of Clayoquot are famed for having some of the most impressive old-growth forests and trees on the planet, and it fills me with the greatest joy to know that the majority are now finally safe. The BC NDP government and the federal Liberal government also deserve credit for supporting this amazing initiative and bringing significant conservation dollars to the table. As we face the global climate and biodiversity crisis, conservation victories like these, which protect some of the grandest ecosystems on Earth while supporting the creation of more sustainable, conservation-based economies for local Indigenous people, are an inspiring model for other communities who may still be considering alternative paths forward and help buoy the heart. Today is a fantastic day”, stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaigner.
More work remains to be done regarding potential mines in the remaining unprotected portions of Clayoquot Sound, while funding is needed for the long-term management of the protected areas.
An aerial view over the ancient forests of Meares Island in Tla’o’qui’aht territory, the site of the first blockades against old-growth logging in 1984 in Clayoquot Sound.
