The old-growth trees of B.C.'s Avatar Grove
Just a five-minute walk from the road outside Port Renfrew, B.C., the ancient cedars and Douglas firs have become a major attraction
Tourist take photos of an old growth tree in the Avatar Grove, near Port Renfrew, B.C., July 18, 2011. (John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail)JOHN LEHMANN/The Globe and Mail
T.J. Watt with the Ancient Forest Alliance, takes a photo of old growth tree in the Avatar Grove, near Port Renfrew, B.C., July 18, 2011.JOHN LEHMANN/The Globe and Mail
Ken Wu with the Ancient Forest Alliance, climbs up onto a 14 foot wide tree stump of old growth tree that was cut down, near Port Renfrew, B.C., July 18, 2011. Story details: When two forest activists were rooting around for ancient trees along southwest Vancouver Island's logging roads in December, the pair made an unexpected discovery. Just a five-minute walk from the road, centuries-old hemlocks, red cedars, firs and an identified evergreen that's been dubbed Canada's "gnarliest tree," stood untouched in a 10-hectare setting, about a 15-minute drive from the village of Port Renfrew. Stunned that the area hadn't been logged, within a few weeks Mr. Wu, along with other environmentalists, founded the Victoria-based Ancient Forest Alliance, today numbering 8,000 members. Soon after, Avatar Grove was born. The Grove has rapidly become the AFA's "poster child" for old-growth preservation, said AFA campaigner Brendan Harry. Choosing the name Avatar Grove was a deliberate move to engage the masses that had seen Avatar, one of the most-viewed movies in history.JOHN LEHMANN/The Globe and Mail
T.J. Watt with the Ancient Forest Alliance, takes a photo of old growth tree in the Avatar Grove, near Port Renfrew, B.C., July 18, 2011.JOHN LEHMANN/The Globe and Mail
Joan Varley of the Wilderness Committee looks up at a cedar tree at Avatar Grove at Gordon Main in Port Renfrew, B.C. August 29, 2010. story by Brennan ClarkeARNOLD LIM/The Globe and Mail
Joan Varley of the Wilderness Committee looks up at a hemlock tree at Avatar Grove along the Gordon River, B.C. August 29, 2010.ARNOLD LIM/The Globe and Mail
A Douglas fir tree at Avatar Grove along the Gordon River Valley, B.C. August 29, 2010.ARNOLD LIM/The Globe and Mail
Twelve-year-old T.J. Cordoviz looks up at a Douglas fir tree at Avatar Grove along the Gordon River Valley, B.C. August 29, 2010.ARNOLD LIM/The Globe and Mail