AFA Office Hour Update

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://ancientforestalliance.org/store.php

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

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

Date: Wednesday, June 24 Time: 7:00-8:30pm Location: Goldstream Provincial Park - Meet at the first parking lot 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 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 the 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!

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

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. **Details, schedule and registration at: https://stanleyparkecology.ca/education/public-programs/big-trees-weekend/

Giant trees in the Lower Avatar Grove

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

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

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

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.  

A woman in a white shirt stands beside an old-growth tree in Francis/King Regional Park.

3 JUIN: Randonnee interpretative sur les forets anciennes en francais (Francophone Ancient Forest Nature Walk)

Mercredi, 3 juin, 7:00 – 8:30 pm Francis King Regional Park ~ Rendez-vous au Centre de la Nature sur Munn Road, Victoria Randonnée facile Les chiens doivent être tenus en laisse Par donation Joignez-vous à Lysiane Chagnon Fontaine et Ken Wu pour une randonnée interprétative en français afin de visiter la forêt ancienne de sapin de Douglas la plus impressionnante à Victoria! La forêt inclue plusieurs arbres de plus de 10 pieds (3 mètres) de diamètre, ainsi que le plus large cèdre rouge creux dans la région! Apprenez-en plus sur les plantes, la faune et sur l'écologie de cette forêt!

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THANK YOU to Our 5 Year Anniversary Supporters!

Thank you to all who donated towards the AFA’s 5 Year Anniversary Celebration & Dinner as well as our 5th Anniversary Earth Day fundraising goals! We greatly appreciate the guests, volunteers, businesses, organizations, artists and others whose generous contributions made the evening an occasion to remember, as well as the many others who weren’t able to make it but have contributed during this pivotal time.  With your dedicated support, we will continue to broaden our movement, complete the Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew, protect specific endangered ancient forests, and work towards ensuring comprehensive, science-based legislation to protect endangered old-growth forests across BC.