Saving Fairy Creek
These are photographs from our visit to the Fairy Creek Blockade in the Port Renfrew area in unceded Pacheedaht territory on Vancouver Island, an active logging blockade protesting the imminent destruction of the Fairy Creek Valley by the Teal Jones logging company . This is the last fully intact old growth forest watershed on southern Vancouver island, outside of parks. During our short visit to the blockade, we got to hang out with the forest defenders, and walk among some of the ancient red cedar, yellow cedar, and hemlock trees they are protecting. The forest defenders have only one demand, to immediately halt the logging of the Fairy Creek Rainforest, as it is the last intact valley on southern Vancouver Island, does it not deserve to be protected?
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Along with the Fairy Creek headwaters, Teal Jones has plans to log more ancient forests on nearby Edinburgh Mountain, the home of Big Lonely Doug ( Canada's 2'nd biggest Douglas Fir tree) as well as the endangered Eden Grove, where huge Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedars cover the lower slope of the mountain... Now The same forest defenders who are protecting Fairy Creek have established another blockade to prevent the logging of Edinburgh's beautiful Ancient Forests. Our future on earth depends on permanently protecting ecosystems like these, old growth forests are of tremendous environmental and cultural importance, they are not a renewable resource, and to cut down what few we have left is a terrible crime against earth. If you'd like to support the forest defenders protecting these gorgeous earth temples, you can donate to their gofundme here.
During our trip to these lands in the Summer of 2020, we spent a day walking some 35 kilometres from our camp in Port Renfrew, to Edinburgh Mountain and back, stopping at the now infamous Avatar Grove on our way. It was an epic pilgrimage into the beautiful backcountry of Vancouver Island to go and see the old growth, and we feel immensely grateful to have spent time with the ancient giants that live in Eden Grove, and nearby Avatar Grove. (You can read the full story of our Edinburgh Hike on our blog) Below are some of our photos of Edinburgh Mountain, Eden Grove, and Big Lonely Doug, we hope they help you realize how invaluable ecosystems like these really are.
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Stay engaged for more on the ancient rainforests of Fairy Creek, Edinburgh Mountain, and other endangered ecosystems. We are returning to Vancouver Island for Summer of 2021 to document and defend these sacred forests, you can follow our journey on our blog where we will be posting updates, photography and reflections.