The Martlet

Heavy rain didn’t stop 500 willing people from joining the Rally for Old Growth Forests, Climate and Jobs last weekend. On Oct. 17, ralliers of all ages marched through downtown Victoria, calling for government action on major forestry issues.

“Big trees, not big stumps,” read one sign, pointing to one of the issues at the heart of this rally: the logging of old-growth forests. Ralliers also called for the sustainable logging of second-growth, and banning raw log exports to the U.S.

Raw logs are unprocessed logs exported primarily to the U.S. Critics of the policy say exporting raw logs endangers B.C. forestry jobs.

Though last year’s crowd was more than five times the size, rally leader Ken Wu and others noted the event’s impact lies in its annual presence, always drawing a reasonably large crowd.

“Even if there is a bit of rally fatigue [in the group of ralliers], showing up every year tells the government we’re not giving up on this” said Jack Thornburg, a 70-year-old volunteer with the North Saanich Environmental Committee.

UVic’s Vice President of Research Howard Brunt was at the rally on his own time “to support biodiversity,” he said.

The rain made attendance more vital for UVic student Jordan Brubacher. He’s not convinced that change will come out of this rally alone, but said it brings light to the issue and gets people talking.

Though speeches were hurried by a wedding scheduled to happen at the Legislature right after the event, speakers and ralliers focused on the importance of continued civic engagement and a vision for a sustainable future — one that will allow the forestry industry to continue to function without completely depleting its resources.

“Protect B.C. Forestry Jobs: Export Campbell to the U.S.A.!” read one sign.

Similarly, Oz Tilson, a former member of the Canadian military (who was unable to officially support the cause until this year) brought her four-year-old son along to start his civic engagement early.

“It shows people that kids can be a part of this.”

UVic geography student Torri Coste is a third-generation Islander. He grew up being exposed to the beauty of old-growth forests in the valley.

“It’s the right of future Islanders to see that too,” he said.

Besides the cultural significance of old growth, NDP environment critic Rob Fleming noted the role that old-growth plays in preventing climate change.

B.C. will have to be represented at the December Copenhagen conference without a plan to protect the most efficient carbon capture vehicle in the province, he said.

On Oct. 15, almost 70 students gathered by the Petch Fountain to make an aerial art image of an ancient tree.

According to the Wilderness Committee, satellite images show that over 73 per cent of the productive old-growth forests of Vancouver Island have already been logged, including 90per cent of the valley bottoms where the largest trees grow.

For more information, visit

wildernesscommittee.org.