Last Thursday afternoon, a large green cardboard elephant was placed outside Premier Gordon Campbell’s office on 4th Avenue to protest policies that allow the logging of old growth forests on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
“The government isn’t addressing old growth forests, and it’s a problem that’s way too obvious to ignore,” explained Michelle Connolly. “It’s the big green elephant in the room.”

Connolly is an organizer for the UBC Ancient Forest Committee, a student initiative under the umbrella of the Student Environment Centre. About 15 supporters showed up to the event. The group wants Campbell to move his policies towards sustainability for the sake of the climate, ecology and tourism.

“Old growth trees store more carbon than younger trees, so when they’re cut, they release more carbon into the atmosphere,” explained Connolly. “The more logging that happens in old growth forests, the more carbon is emitted, and that contributes to global warming.”

“[Old growth forests] would be a sad thing to lose because species—vertebrates and invertebrates—depend on them, too,” said Connolly. “We want sustainability. We’re not against forestry,” she was quick to add.

By 12:20pm, the rally was underway. Two supporters held a large banner that read, “Hands Off the Old Growth.” Several cars honked in support and Erek Joseph Walden, another organizer, led the small crowd in a chant: “Making old growth forests a thing of the past, is climate solution here to last?”

The rally lasted approximately 30 minutes and was filmed by a CBC cameraman, who was invited by the group.

“The issue is getting increasingly more popular,” said Walden, “but it’s hard to get people out to events.”

“The best situation to come out of the rallies would be phasing out old growth logging on Vancouver Island and a transition to second-growth forests,” he added.

The group works in conjunction with SFU and other colleges, and participated in a rally in Victoria in October that attracted over 500 people. They continue to maintain an active Facebook page and plan on increasing awareness of their cause.

The rally ended with the signing of a letter to Campbell, urging him to phase out old growth logging through a transition to second-growth. Despite the group’s efforts, Campbell has never issued a response.

“No, we haven’t heard anything,” said Walden. “But we’re still hopeful.”

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...