[From the Archives: A series of programs originally broadcast daily between Dec 13 and 17, 2021]
I mean, I’ve been in cut blocks quite a lot before, I’ve been around that sort of stuff quite a lot, but I’ve never seen it the way I did when I was at Fairy Creek, you know, feeling the misery of the land and the devastation there, like on a very personal level.
— Dani
Most people are probably aware of the protest and blockade at Fairy Creek on Vancouver island. For over a year, forest defenders have blocked a logging road to prevent logging company Teal Jones from cutting intact old growth areas. For this special feature. I did a little oral history with seven local people who went to Fairy Creek to join that blockade.
The Rainforest Trail, near Tofino, is much more than a simple path through the woods. Massive western red cedars and western hemlocks tower over visitors as they follow the twisting boardwalks through an enchanted landscape full of the ferns, lichen and fungi typical of an old growth ecosystem. The oldest inhabitant of this stand is a red cedar that was reputedly a sapling when Marco Polo set off for the Orient in 1271. This means it is about 950 years old today. A series of information plaques transform the +2 kilometre hike into an educational experience.
According to BC Parks, Campbell River is home to “the only significant stand of old-growth Douglas Fir north of Macmillan Provincial Park [Cathedral Grove].” Yet the city seems to be virtually oblivious of the “towering old growth Douglas Fir and Cedar trees” in the 3.5 kilometre Riverside and Old Growth Loop trails.
Dr. Suzanne Simard, author of Finding the Mother Tree, forest ecologist, and professor shares her reflections from her time on Cortes Island and her work on understanding forest ecosystems.
Dr. Robin Hood of the Mother Tree Network interviewed Dr Simard.
A group of youth calling themselves the children’s forest alumni, who have been involved since childhood, are making a film about the Cortes Children’s Forest Trust.
“It’s going to be around five to seven minutes long. We want to capture the social and ecological spheres of the children’s forest and present that in a film for people to know more about it and connect with the forest if they haven’t been there. Then maybe more people will want to go and experience the beautiful trees and the beautiful ecosystems,” explained Kai Harvey.
