June 18th, 2024
The Guardian
See the original article here
Ancient Forest Alliance photographer TJ Watt’s award-winning image of a giant old-growth cedar on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound was also featured alongside the other winning images in The Guardian. Click the image below to see the full story and list of winning images!
June 18th, 2024,
Nell Lewis, CNN
See the original CNN article here
A photograph of a solitary man walking along terraces in China, rust-red rivers in Alaska and a gargantuan western red cedar are among the winning images of the Earth Photo 2024 competition.
The award – created in 2018 by Forestry England, the UK’s Royal Geographic Society and visual arts consultancy Parker Harris – aims to showcase the beauty of our planet, as well as the threats it is facing, from climate change to toxic pollution.
More than 1,900 images and videos were submitted to this year’s competition by photographers and filmmakers from all over the world. The winners were announced last night at a ceremony at London’s Royal Geographical Society, ahead of an exhibition at the same location showcasing the evocative imagery.
Photographers Jean-Marc Caimi and Valentina Piccinni took the top prize with their “Tropicalia” series, which documents how Sicilian farmers are adapting in response to climate change. “Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and an increased risk of extreme events have transformed what was once Europe’s breadbasket into a testing ground for adaptation and survival,” they said in a press release.
Their images show how farmers are having to diversify: some are giving up their fields to solar energy systems, while others are pivoting to grow exotic fruits such as avocadoes and mangoes that thrive in the now tropical environment.
“Each inspiring image highlights the important stories of resistance, innovation and resilience at the frontline of climate change,” Louise Fedotov-Clements, head of Earth Photo’s jury and director of Photoworks UK, told CNN. “The series as a whole serves as an example of the future that awaits the whole continent.”
Whilst on a trip to Shetland, the biggest thing I wanted to do was photograph the Gannets as they feed underwater. The photography takes place at sea around some of the Shetland’s remotest headlands. Dead bait is used using fish the Gannets would normally eat locally sourced around Shetland. To be able to capture what goes on under the water was an unbelievable experience.
Other winning imagery depicts possible climate solutions, including Jennifer Adler’s “Corals of the Future” series that focuses on ocean science and the efforts to restore marine ecosystems in the world’s largest underwater coral nursery. A short film, “Ser Guardianes Madre Arbol” (“Becoming Guardians of Mother Tree”), by Marc Lathuillière, celebrates an indigenous community in northern Colombia that is fighting for the protection of rainforest and their ancestral lands.
The works highlight “the beauty, fragility, crisis and change happening in our natural environment,” said Mike Seddon, chief executive of Forestry England, in a press release. “Bringing us closer to landscapes, wildlife and communities from across the planet in this way sparks new conversations and reflections. And it prompts us to focus on the creative solutions needed for these environments to flourish beyond our lifetimes.”
Fedotov-Clements added that photography and film “represent a formidable means for raising awareness that can encourage us to adapt, innovate and invent sustainable solutions.”
“From the impact of climate change to the inspiring stories of resilience, this year’s powerful edition is sure to inspire stimulating dialogues about our environment,” she said.
Watt’s award-winning image, Flores Island Cedar, features an enormous redcedar tree – perhaps the most impressive tree in Canada – with Tyson Atleo, an Indigenous Hereditary Representative of the local Ahousaht people, standing at the tree’s base providing a sense of scale.
June 21, 2024
Times Colonist
Read the original article here
An image of a massive western red cedar towering over an Ahousaht hereditary leader has won an award in the Royal Geographical Society’s Earth Photo 2024 competition.
Titled Flores Island Cedar, the photo shows Tyson Atleo standing at the base of a western red cedar that’s estimated to be more than 1,000 years old.
The tree, which has been dubbed “the Wall,” or “ʔiiḥaq ḥumiis,” meaning “big red cedar” in the Nuu-chah-nulth language, stands about 46 metres tall and is five metres wide at the base.
Taken by TJ Watt, a photographer for the Ancient Forest Alliance, the photo won the National Trust Attingham Award for images showing the work or impact of volunteers protecting habitats under the threat of climate change.
The competition saw 1,900 photography and film submissions in 11 categories. Award-winning photographs were taken from Sicily, the Florida Keys, and Colombia’s Majo Atrato basin, as well as on Watt’s photo on Flores Island.
When the photograph was first taken, the tree was growing on unprotected Crown land. On Tuesday, B.C. announced an agreement with the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations to protect about 760 square kilometres of Crown land in Clayoquot Sound, where Flores Island is located.
“It’s not always the case that the forests featured in my photographs have a happy ending. But in this case, I’m so grateful that they do,” Watt said in a statement.
Watt’s photo will displayed at a dozen locations in the U.K., including at the Royal Geographical Society in London, where the Earth Photo exhibition continues until Aug. 21.
For Immediate Release
June 21, 2024
Ancient Forest Alliance Photographer TJ Watt awarded Royal Geographical Society Earth Photo 2024 prize for Image of the Enormous Tree in Clayoquot Sound, Canada, featured on CNN and in The Guardian.
The award coincides with the largest old-growth protected areas victory in decades announced earlier this week in Clayoquot Sound, including for the forest pictured.
Ancient Forest Alliance Photographer and Campaigner TJ Watt has received an award in Earth Photo 2024, an international photography competition currently on display at the Royal Geographical Society in London, UK. His award-winning image, titled Flores Island Cedar, features a gargantuan redcedar tree – perhaps the most impressive tree in Canada – with Tyson Atleo, an Indigenous Hereditary Representative of the local Ahousaht people, standing next to the tree’s base providing a sense of scale. Watt located the enormous tree in 2022 on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound in the unceded territory of the Ahousaht on western Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The contest, which saw over 1900 entries from around the world and 11 award winners, celebrates photography and moving images that tell compelling stories about our planet, its inhabitants, its beauty, resilience and fragility.
“I’m thrilled and honoured to have received an award in the Earth Photo 2024 contest. I always hope my images of old-growth forests reach as wide an audience as possible, inspiring people and raising global awareness of the need to protect them. The tree in the winning image is the largest one I’ve ever found in nearly 20 years of searching for big trees in BC. It’s more than 17 feet (5 meters) wide near its base, 151 feet tall (46 meters), and likely well over a thousand years old, given its size. Unlike most other trees, it grows wider as it gets taller, making it perhaps the most impressive tree in the country when you’re standing before it. In the photo, Ahousaht Hereditary Representative Tyson Atleo stands alongside the mammoth-sized trunk, adding a sense of scale during our visit to the tree in 2023”, stated TJ Watt, Photographer & Campaigner with the Ancient Forest Alliance.
Watt’s award-winning image, Flores Island Cedar, features an enormous redcedar tree – perhaps the most impressive tree in Canada – with Tyson Atleo, an Indigenous Hereditary Representative of the local Ahousaht people, standing at the tree’s base providing a sense of scale.
Coincidently, the photo award announcement happened to closely coincide with the biggest old-growth protected areas victory in decades when, earlier this week, the leadership of the Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, and BC NDP government declared the protection of 76,000 hectares of land in new conservancies in Clayoquot Sound near Tofino, BC. Most of the lands committed for protection are comprised of some of the grandest and most intact coastal old-growth temperate rainforests on Earth, including the forest where Watt’s winning photo was captured.
“It’s not always the case that the forests featured in my photographs have a happy ending. But in this case, I’m so grateful that they do. The announcement of the new conservancies in Clayoquot is incredible news, and I extend my deepest gratitude to the leadership and vision of the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht people, who’ve now secured protection for some of the grandest old-growth rainforests on Earth in their territories. Their proper care and stewardship go back thousands of years, and as a result, one can still find themselves standing in magnificent ancient forests home to trees that have lived for more than a millennium. A special thanks to Tyson Atleo and the Ahousaht Guardians for their time spent with me in the woods as well”, stated Watt.
Watt’s image was specifically awarded the National Trust Attingham Award for images that show the work or impact of volunteers protecting habitats under the threat of climate change. A second image of Watt’s titled Fallen Giants, featuring him laying atop a freshly fallen old-growth redcedar tree cut down in Quatsino territory on northern Vancouver Island, was also shortlisted in the competition. Both images were part of a body of work Watt created with support from the Trebek Initiative, which also named him a National Geographic and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer.
The winning images of Earth Photo 2024 have also attracted international attention, with high-profile features in The Guardian and CNN. BC-based photographer Taylor Roades was also awarded for her series Alaska Rust Rivers.
To view the collection of winning images online, visit the Royal Geographical Society website or the Parker Harris website.
“Congratulations to all the shortlisted and winning photographers for their stunning and thought-provoking images. Photography is a powerful tool for raising public awareness about the many issues our fragile Earth faces. Thanks to the Royal Geographical Society, Parker Harris, Forestry England, and all those who made Earth Photo possible, helping to get these images and messages out in front of the world”, stated Watt.
Earth Photo was jointly created in 2018 by Forestry England, The Royal Geographical Society and Parker Harris, one of the leading visual arts consultancies in the UK. For those looking to view the images in person, they will be on display at the Royal Geographical Society in London, UK, from June 18 – August 21, 2024, with additional exhibit times listed here.
For Immediate Release
June 19, 2024
Biggest Old-Growth Protected Areas Victory in Years: Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and BC NDP Government Declare Protection of 76,000 hectares in Conservancies in Clayoquot Sound.
Conservationists are applauding the leadership of the Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and BC NDP government for yesterday declaring the protection of 76,000 hectares of land – an area about the size of Manning Provincial Park – in new conservancies in Clayoquot Sound near Tofino. Most of the lands committed for protection are comprised of some of the grandest and most intact coastal old-growth temperate rainforests on Earth, and the new protected areas will represent the largest old-growth forest protected areas victory in BC since the Great Bear Rainforest conservancies were announced in 2006. The historic milestone also includes major support from provincial, federal and conservation sources to facilitate sustainable economic development opportunities for the communities to facilitate their economic and social well-being.
Ahousaht Hereditary Representative Tyson Atleo looks toward an ancient redcedar deemed the “most impressive tree in Canada” on Flores Island in Clayoquot Sound.
“This is truly a historic and great day – it warms my heart and makes me feel a deep contentment inside to see this vision finally come to fruition. This is a huge old-growth victory for the people and ecosystems in Clayoquot Sound, and for the people of BC and for the world. We greatly applaud the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht leadership for moving forward with their visions to protect the old-growth ecosystems in their territories, while working to build sustainable economies, and we give great thanks to the BC NDP government, the federal Liberal government and organizations like Nature United for supporting their initiatives. I expect the Clayoquot conservancies will further inspire many other communities across BC and Canada to undertake increased protection of the ecosystems in their territories to support their cultures and their people’s well-being, while working to build sustainable economies”, stated Ken Wu, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance executive director.
“I extend my deepest gratitude to the leadership and people of the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation for bringing their incredible conservation visions to life in Clayoquot Sound. The embattled coastal rainforests of Clayoquot are famed for having some of the most impressive old-growth forests and trees on the planet, and it fills me with the greatest joy to know that the majority are now finally safe. The BC NDP government and the federal Liberal government also deserve credit for supporting this amazing initiative and bringing significant conservation dollars to the table. As we face the global climate and biodiversity crisis, conservation victories like these, which protect some of the grandest ecosystems on Earth while supporting the creation of more sustainable, conservation-based economies for local Indigenous people, are an inspiring model for other communities who may still be considering alternative paths forward and help buoy the heart. Today is a fantastic day”, stated TJ Watt, Ancient Forest Alliance photographer and campaigner.
More work remains to be done regarding potential mines in the remaining unprotected portions of Clayoquot Sound, while funding is needed for the long-term management of the protected areas.
An aerial view over the ancient forests of Meares Island in Tla’o’qui’aht territory, the site of the first blockades against old-growth logging in 1984 in Clayoquot Sound.
December 15, 2023
The Cool Down
By Jeremiah Budin
A nature photographer in British Columbia discovered one of the largest old-growth cedars ever documented off the coast of Vancouver Island — and he’s not telling you or anyone else how to find it.
TJ Watt, a co-founder of the Ancient Forest Alliance, a charitable organization that works to protect endangered old-growth forests, waited more than a year after first happening across the massive tree, which he nicknamed “The Wall,” to even tell the world about its existence, according to The Washington Post.
During that time, Watt consulted with members of the Ahousaht First Nation, who have lived in the area for thousands of years.
“It was decided that we should keep the tree’s location a secret because these are sensitive areas, and everything could get pretty trampled if word got out where to find it,” Watt told the Post.
He also took time to thoroughly measure and document The Wall. It is believed that the massive tree is over 1,000 years old, standing 151 feet tall and 17 and a half feet in diameter.
“I’ve found thousands and thousands of trees, and I’ve shot hundreds of thousands of photos of old-growth forests,” Watt told the Post. “But I’ve never seen a tree as impressive as this one.”
“It was incredible to stand before it,” he continued. “I’d describe it as a freak of nature because it actually gets wider as it gets taller. As I looked up at it, I felt a sense of awe and wonder.”
Canada’s largest documented tree, a humongous red cedar known as the Cheewhat Giant, is located in the protected Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and stands 182 feet tall and 19 feet in diameter, per the Post.
Old-growth forests play an essential role in wildlife habitat, species diversity, carbon storage, and other crucial ecological processes. However, like so many parts of the natural world, they are threatened by pollution, the effects of human-caused extreme weather events, and the logging industry.
Although trees such as the Cheewhat Giant are protected, per the Post, 80% of the original old-growth forests on Vancouver Island have already been logged, according to the Ancient Forest Alliance. That’s why it is essential that The Wall stays protected and its location unreleased.
October 8, 2023
By Josh Marcus
The Independent UK
BC government has vowed to protect old-growth forests, but logging is on the rise
An explorer who focuses on location and preserving old-growth trees has encountered what is one of the oldest old-growth trees ever documented in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Last summer, TJ Watt was bushwhacking through a remote forest in Flores Island, part of Clayoquot Sound, in the territory of the Ahousaht First Nation off the west coast of Vancouver Island, when he came upon a magnificent site.
A massive red cedar appeared, whose trunk seemed to grow wider the farther up it went.
“It was incredible to stand before it,” he told The Washington Post. “I’d describe it as a freak of nature because it actually gets wider as it gets taller. As I looked up at it, I felt a sense of awe and wonder.”
“I’ve found thousands and thousands of trees, and I’ve shot hundreds of thousands of photos of old-growth forests,” he added. “But I’ve never seen a tree as impressive as this one.”
Ancient Forest Alliance photographer TJ Watt beside the gargantuan redcedar on the day he first found it.
After happening upon the tree, he consulted with members of the Ahousaht, who have lived in the territory for thousands of years. As part of the nation’s plans to protect over 80 per cent of their Clayoquot Sound lands as Ahousaht Cultural and Natural Areas, the Ahousaht will protect the giant tree Mr Watt experienced.
The western red cedar measures 151 feet tall and 17 feet wide, and is thought to be over 1,000 years old. Its exact location is being kept secret to protect its sensitive habitat from overuse.
“People would have seen this tree for hundreds of years — my people would have interacted with it for as long as it’s been here,” Tyson Atleo, a representative of the nation, told the Post. “Today we covet these large trees because there are so few of them left.”
Old-growth forests are key reserves of biodiversity and resilience in the face of the climate crisis.
In 2020, the government of British Columbia embarked on what it promised would be a paradigm-shifting new approach to managing these vital forests.
The following year, it consulted with 204 First Nations on whether they supported deferring logging of these forests for the next two years while officials formulated “a new approach to sustainable forest management that prioritizes ecosystem health and community resiliency.”
Critics argue the effort to preserve the forests hasn’t been adequately funded and implemented thus far.
Outlets like Mongabay have documented clear-cutting on Vancouver Island forests slated for protection.
According to analysis of public data, logging of these forests actually increased between 2020 and 2021 by around 13 per cent, CBC reports.
“These are the most resilient forests we have left with a fighting chance to withstand climate change like drought, fire and flooding,” Sierra Club’s Jens Wieting told the outlet. “If we continue to nibble away at the last old-growth we will be left defenceless.”
Read the original article.
July 28, 2023
CHEK News
By Kori Sidaway
Watch CHEK’s video coverage here.
Nearly two decades into his hunt for B.C.’s biggest trees, it takes a lot to blow away Ancient Forest Alliance campaigner and National Geographic explorer TJ Watt.
A tree on Flores Island has done just that. Five metres (17 feet) wide at its base, even wider as it goes up, reaching more than 150 feet tall, the western red cedar is likely more than 1,000 years old.
“When I first saw it I thought, initially, it was a rock wall,” said Watt.
It’s a sprawling fortress of tree limbs which Watt has dubbed, “Canada’s most impressive tree.”
“It’s just the most mind-blowing thing I’ve seen in nature,” said Watt.
Though currently unprotected, Ahousaht First Nation plans to protect this tree and 80 per cent of other trees in their territory.
“I believe firmly that we do need to protect from ourselves, from extraction and exploitation,” said Tyson Atleo with Ahousaht First Nation. “We need to put a pause on harvesting. We need to put a pause on exploitation so we can re-calibrate that relation. I know we can and Ahousaht is leading that way right now.”
Ahousaht’s approach for a successful conservation-based economy is one that Atleo believes other First Nations could model after.
The next step as Watt sees it, is the province working to ensure it’s an easy process to get there
“[B.C. Premier] David Eby needs to step in to make sure ministries are doing everything in their power to reduce barriers to old growth conservation, stop heel-dragging on conservation financing, provide funding to support old growth deferrals and ensure the oldest and best trees in B.C. Are being protected,” said Watt.
Protected, so generations to come can stand under or see, something that’s been here for more than a millennium. The biggest, Watt is sure, is still yet to come.
“Where that tree might be, who knows, so the hunt continues,” said Watt.
View the original article here.
July 29, 2023
CBC News
By Chad Pawson
TJ Watt says Western red cedar near Tofino is a 46-metre-tall leviathan of a biodiverse ecosystem.
For 20 years, Victoria’s TJ Watt, 39, has trekked through the province’s vast and verdant landscape seeking out giant, old trees to document them and make a case for their conservation.
Now, at a time when exceptionally large trees have dwindled due to logging, he’s recorded what he calls the tree of his lifetime.
“No tree has blown me away more than this one,” he said. “It literally is a wall of wood.”
Watt photographed the tree, a Western red cedar, in 2022 on Flores Island in fabled Clayoquot Sound on Ahousaht First Nations territory while on a field trip as a National Geographic and Royal Canadian Geographical Society explorer. (The species is also spelled redcedar because it’s not deemed to be a true cedar.)
It’s estimated to be 46 metres tall and five metres wide at its base. The old-growth tree, part of forests that store carbon and support many species of plants and animals, is estimated to be at least 1,000 years old, according to Watt.
Its dimensions put it at the very top of the biggest and oldest trees in the province and across Canada.
“Unlike most other trees, it actually gets wider as it goes up,” said Watt. “It’s really the highlight of my life to come across something this spectacular.”
Watt and the Ahousaht First Nation have now revealed images and details of the tree to the public — although keeping its location secret — to show it as an example of the importance of the province meeting commitments to overhaul forestry to balance harvesting with ecological values.
“It’s representative of a healthy, intact, coastal, temperate ecosystem,” said Tyson Atleo, 36, a hereditary representative of the Ahousaht First Nation. “We don’t see a lot of trees that size anymore.”
The tree has been nicknamed “The Wall” or “ʔiiḥaq ḥumiis,” meaning “big redcedar” in the Nuu-chah-nulth language. It’s in a type of forest that’s in danger of disappearing from BC’s landscape due to a history of intense logging.
“Forests like this have just been reduced to a tiny, tiny fraction of their original extent today,” said Watt. “We need to be doing everything we can in our power to ensure that they remain standing, especially given the climate and biodiversity crisis.”
The tree is not currently in danger of being logged as it’s in an area where old-growth logging is being deferred as part of work between First Nations and the province to protect old-growth forests at risk of permanent biodiversity loss.
Aerial view over the ancient forests of Flores Island in Ahousaht territory in Clayoquot Sound, BC.
The Ahousaht First Nation, whose territory spans Clayoquot Sound, a globally recognized biosphere reserve, is at the forefront of work to keep significant trees in biodiverse forests standing while finding other ways, such as tourism, to replace lost revenues.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to share … who we are as the Ahousaht, what our values and principles are, but also help [visitors] experience the magic of our territories as is exemplified by this incredible tree,” said Atleo.
Ahous Adventures, an Ahousaht-owned and operated eco-cultural tour company in Tofino, won’t be taking visitors to the tree in order to keep the area protected but does other tours to show off the region’s other impressive trees.
‘An ecosystem unto itself’
Nations like the Ahousaht are hoping for more conservation funding from the province to be able to develop alternative economic opportunities in their territories that will allow for trees like ʔiiḥaq ḥumiis, to remain standing.
In order to raise funds on its own, the Ahousaht has established a voluntary stewardship fee for its territories, much like BC Parks’ day-use passes.
Meanwhile, others also making careers of trying to locate and document massive old-growth trees that still exist, say coming across trees like The Wall is akin to a religious experience.
“You feel so small, and you realize it is so incredibly important what these things are. They represent so much more than just a tree. It’s an ecosystem unto itself,” said Colin Spratt, a conservation photographer who takes people on tours of Vancouver’s Stanley Park to show off old-growth trees there.
View the original article here.
July 28, 2023
CTV News
Check out this VIDEO on CTV News covering what we believe to be the most impressive tree in Canada. Dubbed ‘The Wall’, or or ‘ʔiiḥaq ḥumiis’, meaning ‘big redcedar’ in the Nuu-chah-nulth language, this massive tree measures over 17 ft (5 m) wide near its base and 151 ft (46 m) tall and stands in a remote location on Flores Island near Tofino in Ahousaht Territory.
AFA campaigner and photographer notes that of all the trees he’s seen over his big tree hunting career, this one is by far the most mind-blowing. “It’s a literal wall of wood. Your brain can’t compute the scale when you stand below it,” he says. “The first time I arrived, from a distance I thought it had to be two trees because of how wide the trunk and limbs are. It defies words.”
The scale of the tree is a reminder of the importance of protecting old-growth forest ecosystems that support biodiversity.
Luckily, there are no current logging plans for this area, and the Ahousaht First Nation’s Land Use Vision (currently in the late stages of negotiations with the BC government) calls for the protection of 80% of their territory, including the ancient forest where this tree is found. This would happen through the creation of new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) to be legislated as Provincial Conservancies by the province.
To ensure that forests like these remain standing across the province, Premier Eby must remove any barriers to protection from within his government and link conservation funding for First Nations to sustainable economic development and protecting the biggest and best old-growth stands vs. saving the least endangered ecosystems.
Read the full media release here.
Watch CTV News’ full video coverage here.
