A large group of hikers crowd around the massive redcedar dubbed "Canada's Gnarliest Tree" during an Ancient Forest Alliance led public hike to the Avatar Grove in summer 2010.

Ancient Forest Alliance thanks the Mountain Equipment Co-op

/in /by
The Ancient Forest Alliance wants to thank the Mountain Equipment Co-op for their generous Advocacy and Education Grant from 2010-11 that has helped us round up 20,000 supporters through our petition-drive, hikes, slideshows, and rally to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs. Their support greatly helped our new organization with key funds to further expand our reach to thousands of British Columbians directly and to millions of people around the world through the media.
 
Please visit their website at  www.mec.ca and show your appreciation for their support of wilderness protection campaigns at your local store!
Horticulturist Henry Kock

New lichen species named for U of G tree guru Henry Kock

/in /by

GUELPH – A newly-discovered species of lichen will be named in honour of renowned University of Guelph horticulturist Henry Kock, who passed away on Christmas Day 2005.

Kock’s wife, Anne Hansen, purchased the scientific naming rights in an online auction earlier this month.
The lichen will be scientifically known as Bryoria Kockiana.

“I think the real icing on the cake will be the common name,” said Kock’s friend and neighbour, Brian Holstein. “Many are already suggesting it should be called Henry’s Beard.”

Hansen said when she decided to buy the rights she hadn’t seen the lichen and had no idea it so resembled Kock’s trademark flowing beard.

“That was a nice coincidence,” she said in a telephone interview from British Columbia, where she moved in 2007.
The lichen – a combination of fungi and algae which provides critical winter food for animals such as caribou and deer – was discovered by BC lichenologist Trevor Goward. He donated the naming rights to support the Ancient Forest Alliance, a new non-profit organization working to protect BC’s old-growth forests.

“I heard about the auction about a month ago but it just sort of went over my head,” said Hansen, a renowned nature artist. “I didn’t really think it applied to me.”

But a couple of weeks ago Hansen heard a CBC Radio interview with Goward about the lack of interest in the naming rights, which Goward suggested was indicative of a general disinterest in the natural world.

“That struck a chord with me,” Hansen said. “Henry really fought to have people take more of an interest in the natural world. It took me about five minutes to decide this was something I should do for Henry.”

She paid $4,000 for the naming rights.

“I think it’s an incredible thing and what a fitting tribute to him,” said Holstein. “Too bad it’s not an elm tree.”
After Kock’s passing, his home was purchased by neighbours who have maintained his spectacular garden.

“But it’s still just referred to as Henry’s place,” Holstein said. “That’s how everyone knows the property. He had such a tremendous impact on the whole city and on this neighbourhood.”

Hansen said her husband was a “tireless champion” of biodiversity and inconspicuous species.

“Whenever he spoke he would never forget to mention the unglamorous species like the sedges and toads and lichens,” Hansen said. “He appreciated that every species has a role to play and without these little things the bigger ones couldn’t survive.”

Hansen said while she is unsure what her “forest defender” would have made of having a species named for him, she knows he would have liked the idea of naming it for a loved one.

“I thought about that, and if such an opportunity had been available to him I believe he would have named a species in honour of his sister, Irene, a well-known anti-nuclear activist who was killed in a (2001) car accident,” Hansen said. “I think he’s smiling down.”

Read the article in the Guelph Mercury at: https://www.guelphmercury.com/news/local/article/641081–new-lichen-species-named-for-u-of-g-tree-guru-henry-kock

Thumbs Up!

/in /by

Thumbs Up To Oystercatcher Girl – a.k.a. Victoria artist Anne Hansen – for a winning $4,000 bid that will give her the right to name a new species of lichen discovered by University of B.C. researcher Trevor Goward, with proceeds to the Ancient Forest Alliance. Hansen will name Bryoria kockiana, after Hansen’s late husband, Henry Kock, a horticulturist and author. The Oystercatcher Girl name comes from her paintings; see them at oystercatchergirl.blogspot.com.

Link to Times Colonist article:  https://bit.ly/uae26Y

Ancient Forest Alliance

Scientists’ names live on in lichens

/in /by

Two newly-discovered lichens will be named after a botanist, who died of brain cancer in 2005, and a biologist, who died in a car accident in January.

An auction for the right to name the lichens raised $17,900 for The Land Conservancy and $4,000 for the Ancient Forest Alliance.

Artist Anne Hansen, of Victoria, made the winning bid on the hairlike bryoria lichen, which will be known as Bryoria kockiana in memory of her husband, Henry Kock. “Henry was a tireless champion of biodiversity and inconspicuous species like toads, lichens and sedges,” Hansen said.

Kock ran programs at the University of Guelph Arboretum for 20 years.

“Naming a species after a beloved forest defender is my idea of a fabulous solstice celebration,” Hansen said. “I’m not the only one who’s noticed that the lichen looks like Henry’s beard.”

Ken Wu, of the Ancient Forest Alliance, said funds raised will be used to map old-growth forest on Vancouver Island and produce old-growth status reports. “This is about eight per cent of our entire year’s funding,” said Wu, who hopes auctioning off the names of newly-discovered species will become more common in Canada.

The second lichen, a two-toned, more leafy variety, will be named Parmelia Sulymae in honour of Randy Sulyma, a forester and biologist who was 43 when he died in a vehicle accident in Chetwynd.

The campaign to come up with the winning bid was co-ordinated by Sylvia Sulyma, Randy’s mother. “For all who knew Randy, this is such a fitting legacy,” Sulyma said. “The whole family is excited and overwhelmed today.”

The $17,900 raised will go toward creating a wildlife corridor, in Wells Gray Provincial Park, for large mammals migrating from winter to summer ranges across the Clearwater Valley.

The two lichens were discovered by Trevor Goward, curator of lichens at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at the University of B.C., who offered them for auction. “Future auctions of this kind will garner even more support as Canadians awaken to the honour of being linked, if only in name, to other living species,” Goward said.

The horsehair lichen – which Hansen says resembles Kock's beard – will be known as Bryoria kockiana.

Media Release: “New Species Conservation Auction” closes with renowned BC artist Anne Hansen Winning Bid

/in /by

For Immediate Release
Friday, December 16, 2011

“New Species Conservation Auction” closes with renowned BC artist Anne Hansen (aka “Oystercatcher Girl”) making winning bid of $4000, with proceeds to the Ancient Forest Alliance

A unique conservation fundraiser, the “New Species Conservation Auction”, came to an end yesterday with the winning $4000 bid coming from renowned Victoria artist Anne Hansen, whose nickname “Oystercatcher Girl” is derived from her famous paintings of oystercatchers and other birds (see https://oystercatchergirl.blogspot.com/ ).  Hansen won the naming rights to a newly discovered species of lichen from BC’s inland rainforest, which she plans to name in honour of her late husband. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Ancient Forest Alliance (www.AncientForestAlliance.org), a new non-profit organization working to protect BC’s old-growth forests and forestry jobs.

In June, Trevor Goward, curator of lichens at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at the University of British Columbia, loaned a new species of lichen he discovered, a Bryoria or “horsehair” lichen (see a photo at: https://16.52.162.165/news-pic.php?ID=233 Note: media are free to reprint the photo), as a fundraiser for the Ancient Forest Alliance.

According to scientific protocol, the right to give a new species its scientific name goes to the person who scientifically describes it. However, the online auction has earned the highest bidder, Anne Hansen, the right to name the new lichen species. The scientific species name could last centuries or millenia, enshrined in the scientific nomenclature as a legacy for environmentally-concerned individuals long after they have passed away.

The new lichen’s scientific name will be Bryoria kockiana, as Hansen has decided to name the species after her late husband, Henry Kock, horticulturist and author. Kock, who passed away in 2005, was the public face of the Arboretum at the University of Guelph for 20 years and author of Growing Trees from Seed.

Hansen states:

“Henry was a tireless champion of biodiversity and inconspicuous species like toads, lichens and sedges.  Organic gardening became his life’s work after an unfortunate early vocational exposure to pesticides.  Many native gardens throughout Ontario owe their existence to Henry’s classes at the Arboretum and his travelling presentations to nature clubs. His own garden, which he transformed from lawn to forest, was dubbed the Hotel of the Trees…I feel like I got a bargain! Many people go into debt in December, for toys and gadgets that will soon be obsolete.  Lichens have been around since ancient biological times.  If we do something fast about climate change, lichens will be here far into the future.  Naming a species after a beloved forest defender is my idea of a fabulous solstice celebration.  I’m not the only one who’s noticed that the lichen looks like Henry’s beard!”

See Hansen’s full statement at:  https://16.52.162.165/news-item.php?ID=342

Trevor Goward states:

“I’m delighted if the loan of one my undescribed lichens has contributed to such an effective grassroots organization as the Ancient Forest Alliance – a group definitely to watch!…In the event, we couldn’t have asked for a more appropriate benefactor for this new initiative. I salute B.C. Nature artist Anne Hansen for her efforts to make a positive difference in the world through her beautiful art work and now, in addition, through her contribution to the Ancient Forest Alliance. It gives…me real pleasure to name this new hair lichen in honour of Anne’s late husband, the horticulturist and author Henry Kock, whose work as a conservationist really deserves to be recognized. From this day forward, Henry’s name will be remembered in Bryoria kockiana – a name I expect to last as long as our civilization does.”

See Goward’s full statement at:  https://16.52.162.165/news-item.php?ID=343

Conservationists are hoping that this first trial run of “taxonomic tithing” in Canada will inspire similar taxonomic tithing initiatives for conservation organizations working to protect diverse ecosystems and endangered species. “Taxonomic tithing” is a term coined by Goward whereby a biological researcher who describes a new species donates its naming rights for conservation purposes (see  https://www.waysofenlichenment.net/tithe/home).

“We’re most grateful to Trevor Goward and Anne Hansen for this enormous boost of funding for our small organization,” stated Ken Wu, Ancient Forest Alliance executive director. “We’ve run this organization on a shoestring with very limited resources, so this will be an infusion of funding that will allow us to build some key pieces of the campaign in 2012 to save the last of BC’s endangered old-growth forests.”

B.C.’s old-growth forests are home to numerous species at risk that require old-growth forests to flourish, including mountain caribou, spotted owls, marbled murrelets, Vaux’s swifts, and many species of lichens. After old-growth forests are logged, they are replaced by tree plantations that lack the structural diversity and ecological characteristics that support these unique species. These plantations are to be re-logged every 30 to 80 years before they can become old-growth forests again. About 80% or more of the old-growth forests in southern British Columbia have already been logged and converted to second-growth tree plantations, farmland, and cities. See spectacular images of Vancouver Island’s old-growth forests at:   https://16.52.162.165/photos-media/

Lichens are small organisms often mistaken for plants, but perhaps better thought of as cooperative (symbiotic) unions of fungi and algae: fungi that have discovered agriculture https://www.waysofenlichenment.net/.

The Ancient Forest Alliance is a new British Columbian environmental organization established in 2010 working to protect BC’s remaining old-growth forests and to ensure sustainable forestry jobs. It works through research and public education to promote the establishment of new laws and policies to protect old-growth forests.

Goward also donated the naming rights of another new species of lichen to The Land Conservancy, a major land trust organization in BC working to purchase private lands across the province, including parts of the Clearwater Valley to make a wildlife corridor near Wells Gray Provincial Park. The winning bid for The Land Conservancy’s lichen came in at a whopping $17,900 last night. Visit https://www.printablesme.com for your bed bath and beyond coupons

The horsehair lichen – which Hansen says resembles Kock's beard – will be known as Bryoria kockiana.

Santa Claus, Conservation Groups Benefit from ‘Tree Beard’ Lichen Named for Late U of G Plantsman

/in /by

A newly discovered lichen resembling “tree beards” will carry the name of a late University of Guelph horticulturist, author and master gardener.

The new species of horsehair lichen will be called Bryoria kockiana for Henry Kock, former interpretive horticulturist at the U of G Arboretum and a leading authority on native woody plants. He died in 2005 of brain cancer. His wife, Anne Hansen, purchased the scientific naming rights to the lichen this week.

The new species was discovered in a British Columbia rainforest by lichenologist Trevor Goward. He organized an auction for naming rights for two of his recent finds to benefit two B.C. conservation groups.

“With Christmas coming, here’s a perfect opportunity to give something back to Canada,” he said, explaining why he created the online auction.

The auction closed Dec. 15. Proceeds from Kock’s newly named lichen will benefit the Ancient Rainforest Alliance, a Victoria-based group that helps protect old-growth forests.

Hansen said buying the naming rights was the perfect holiday gift.

“Many people go into debt in December for toys and gadgets that will soon be obsolete. Lichens have been around since ancient biological times. If we do something fast about climate change, lichens will be here far into the future,” she said.

“And I’m not the only one who’s noticed that the lichen looks like Henry’s beard,” said Hansen, who moved from Guelph to B.C. in 2007.

A combination of fungi and algae, lichen provide critical winter food for mountain caribou and black-tailed deer.

Goward said, “Without lichens, caribou and reindeer would soon disappear, and where would Santa Claus be then?”

“We couldn’t have asked for a more appropriate benefactor,” he said, adding that Kock’s “work as a conservationist really deserves to be recognized.”

Kock joined U of G in 1981. He led interpretive walks and educational programs at the Arboretum and spoke regularly to gardeners and naturalist groups. He helped organize U of G’s first Organic Agriculture Conference in 1982.

He established gene banks for rare plants and launched the province’s Elm Recovery Project. Kock received the Governor General’s Award for Forest Stewardship in 1998 and was named one of Canada’s most outstanding gardeners in 2004. His book, Growing Trees from Seed, was completed by botanist colleagues after his death.

Anne Hansen: A Likin’ For Lichen

/in /by

Victoria, B.C. artist Anne Hansen, who is well-known for her paintings of the black oystercatcher (a shorebird), has just purchased the scientific- naming rights of a newly-discovered lichen, in a fundraising initiative of the Ancient Forest Alliance.

She will name the lichen after her deceased husband, Henry Kock, horticulturist and author of Growing Trees from Seed (Firefly Books Ltd, 2008).  The book was completed by his botanical colleagues after his death.  Kock (pronounced “Coke”) was the public face of the Arboretum at the University of Guelph for 20 years.  He died of brain cancer on December 25, 2005.  Hansen moved from Ontario to BC in 2007.

Anne says, “Henry was a tireless champion of biodiversity and inconspicuous species like toads, lichens and sedges.  Organic gardening became his life’s work after an unfortunate early vocational exposure to pesticides.  Many native gardens throughout Ontario owe their existence to Henry’s classes at the Arboretum and his travelling presentations to nature clubs.  His own garden, which he transformed from lawn to forest, was dubbed the Hotel of the Trees.  In his legendary slide shows, he referred to his suburban yard as a bed and breakfast for migrating songbirds.”

Henry Kock established the Elm Recovery Project at the Arboretum, which now bears his name, as does a new greenhouse on the University of Guelph campus.

“I feel like I got a bargain!” says Hansen.  “Many people go into debt in December, for toys and gadgets that will soon be obsolete.  Lichens have been around since ancient biological times.  If we do something fast about climate change, lichens will be here far into the future.  Naming a species after a beloved forest defender is my idea of a fabulous solstice celebration.  I’m not the only one who’s noticed that the lichen looks like Henry’s beard!”

Anne Hansen

https://oystercatchergirl.blogspot.com 

Renowned lichenologist Trevor Goward stands beside the new species of Bryoria or "horsehair lichen" he discovered. To place a bid for the naming rights to this species visit: https://www.charitybuzz.com/categories/43/catalog_items/272986

Lichenologist Trevor Goward: Statement on the Close on the New Species Conservation Auction

/in /by

I’m delighted if the loan of one my undescribed lichens has contributed to such an effective grass roots organization as the Ancient Forest Alliance – a group definitely to watch! My understanding is that the top bid of $4,000 is a major boost for them.

As a taxonomist, I’m also delighted if my work can in some way help to preserve critical habitats for the organisms I study. As this is a first trial run of taxonomic tithing in Canada, I accept that it will take time for Canadians really to get behind this new method of conservation fund raising. I feel certain that future auctions of this kind will bring in even more funding as the public becomes aware of the honour inherent in being linked, even if only in name, to other living species that share this planet with us.

In the event, we couldn’t have asked for a more appropriate benefactor for this new initiative. I salute B.C. Nature artist Anne Hansen for her efforts to make a positive difference in the world through her beautiful art work and now, in addition, through her contribution to the Ancient Forest Alliance. It gives my colleagues Saara Velmala and Leena Myllys and me real pleasure to name this new hair lichen in honour of Anne’s late husband, the horticulturist and author Henry Kock, whose work as a conservationist really deserves to be recognized. From this day forward, Henry’s name will be remembered in Bryoria kockiana – a name I expect to last as long as our civilization does.

Trevor Goward

Scientific American: Designate a species with your name or your pooch’s

/in /by

If you discovered a new species, what would you name it? Some scientists go the descriptive route: Bambiraptor is a little raptor. Others try to make a joke – Aha ha is a species of Australian wasp named in 1977 by the entomologist Arhold Menke as a joke (Menke also used the name for his vanity license plate). Others are just sort of odd: Myzocallis khawaluokalani is an aphid whose name supposedly translates from Hawaiian to “you fish on your side of the lagoon and I’ll fish on the other, and no one will fish in the middle.” There are species named after famous people: Strigiphilus garylarsoni is a louse named after the cartoonist Gary Larson. And after the scientists themselves: Linnaeus named Linnea borealis after himself. But in the past ten years a new trend has emerged in species names: selling them to the highest bidder.

This time, if you’re willing to cough up the cash, you can have your very own horsehair lichen named for whoever, or whatever your desire (sorry, Polemistus chewbacca is already taken by a wasp). Trevor Goward, a Canadian botanist, discovered the lichen in British Columbia, where it grows in hairy mats along the branches of trees. The proceeds of the bidding go to the Ancient Forest Alliance, a non-profit conservation group in British Columbia working to conserve the old growth forests in the area. Bidding on the name, organized by charitybuzz, ends tonight.

This isn’t the first time scientists have put their discoveries up for auction. In 2008, Purdue University auctioned off the names to seven bats and two turtles. In 2007 the names for ten new species brought in $2 million for conservation projects in Indonesia, and in 2009 Steven Colbert harnessed the power of his viewers to win him the rights to Agaporomorphus colberti – a Venezuelan diving beetle.

So, if you had the bucks, what would you name the lichen? After you dog? Your husband? Your favorite Twilight character? Think carefully, because whatever it is, it will most likely last far longer than you will.

Read the article in the Scientific American: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2011/12/14/liken-yourself-to-a-lichen-designate-a-species-with-your-name-or-your-poochs/

Mary Vasey stands beside the largest old-growth bigleaf maple in the Mossy Maple Grove.

Mossiest forest in Canada creating buzz in Lake Cowichan

/in /by

Environmentalists with the Ancient Forest Alliance on Vancouver Island have recently discovered what is being dubbed as “Canada’s mossiest rainforest.” And it’s extremely close to Lake Cowichan.

Located near Honeymoon Bay, roughly a 40-minute drive from Lake Cowichan, Mossy Maple Rainforest supports two different growth sites. These stand close together and are surrounded by second-growth maples, red alders and conifers. One section is located on private land and the is found on Crown land, both in unceded territories of the Hul’qumi’num.

Previously the area had been owned by TimberWest until the company sold its private lands last summer to two public sector pension funds, the B.C. Investment Management Corporation and the federal Public Sector Pension Investment Board without consulting the Hul’qumi’num people.

Nicknamed Fangorn Forest, in reference to the deciduous forest featured in the second Lord of the Rings film, Mossy Maple Rainforest truly is a magical place.

Moss covers nearly everything here. Growing all the way up to the top of most trees, the moss provides a thick fuzzy green layer up these twisted giants. Getting so thick, collections of gigantic moss clumps have fallen and now carpet the ground of Mossy Maple Rainforest. Upon inspection, some of these masses weigh several pounds.

Ken Wu of the Ancient Forest Alliance helped discover Mossy Maple and said the deciduous trees bark is rich in calcium, which moss loves and is why it thrives here.

Diverse mosses, licorice ferns and lobaria “lettuce” lichens and more fauna grows on the trees in Mossy Maple. According to Wu, Mossy Maple hosts more plants growing on trees than any other trees in North America. The area is also home to bears, cougars, elk and a host of other wildlife.

Wu believes the area will soon put the Lake Cowichan-area on the map and is hopeful that Mossy Maple can transform into the Canadian-equivalent of Olympic National Park in Washington, which also boasts stunning old-growth deciduous forests.

“The potential for tourism is massive here,” explained Wu.

The maple syrup industry is also beginning to thrive in B.C.. Boasting a more milder flavor than maple syrup from Eastern Canada, the supply for B.C. maple syrup far surpasses its demand. This could also be economically beneficial to the area without destroying the forest’s majestic beauty.

“This type of forest is new to most conservationists and to the general public, few of whom are aware of old-growth deciduous rainforest. It’s sort of like spotting a wooly rhinoceros among a regular herd of endangered rhinos. Big leaf maples support First Nations cultures, abundant wildlife, salmon streams, B.C. maple syrup and important scenery. The last ancient stands must be protected,” said Wu.

Wu noted that a walking will need to be erected through the Mossy Maple site, so as to prevent damage to the area caused by people traffic.

It’s unknown what the future holds for Mossy Maple Rainforest. Old growth big leaf maples are important commodities to the logging industry for their strong, dense wood. Wu said no current logging plans exist for this area as of yet. However, he also highlighted that no protective measures have been proposed yet either. Wu was quick to state logging can help promote the growth of second-growth maples.

“Logging helps to spread young second-growth maples by reducing competition. It also eliminates the old-growth maples. Our goal is to protect the old-growth forests,” said Wu.

Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group chief negotiator, Robert Morales is worried about Mossy Maple’s future.

“Our culture and our identity as Hul’qumi’num people are tied to our land. The large scale clearcutting on our unceded territories is an assault on our culture and on our human rights. The Hul’qumi’num land use plan calls for the protection of the last old-growth remnants in our territories. The B.C. government failed to consult with us regarding the sale of TimberWest lands to the two pension funds and they still refuse to negotiate compensation for the give-away of over 80 per cent of our territories to private interests through the E&N land grant over a century ago,” said Morales.

Big leaf maples can grow up to three metres or 10 feet in trunk diameter and can live to upwards of 300 years, making them one of the most gigantic deciduous trees in North America.

Arvid Charlie, an elder with the Cowichan Tribes has an extensive knowledge of the traditional uses of plants and resources, especially big leaf maples.

“Big leaf maples because of their hard wood was used by our people to make many things, especially paddles, while the large variety of understory plants are still used for many types of medicines and foods. The herds of elk and the remaining salmon have always been vital foods to our culture,” said Charlie.

Ancient Forest Aliance co-founder and photographer, T.J. Watt has also come under the hypnotic spell of Mossy Maple.

“These ancient maple rainforests are some of the mossiest and awesome — or ‘mossome’ as we like to say — forests on Earth. If done sensitively, they could support a significant eco-tourism and cultural tourism industry that would benefit the local economy, much as the famous big leaf maple rainforests of the Hoh Valley in Washington’s Olympic National Park do,” said Watt.

[Link to Lake Cowichan Gazette article no longer available]