TJ Watt Photography Blog — TJ Watt Photography

Press: Endangered Upper Walbran Valley - Photos & News Coverage

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Anyone who has been to the Upper Walbran Valley knows it is a truly exceptional place. At the heart of the valley lies the largest contiguous tract of unprotected, lowland old-growth forest left outside of parks on southern Vancouver Island; which includes the Castle Grove and the Central Walbran Ancient Forest. I recently visited the area to photograph signs of new potential logging plans in the core area and the amazing forest that is threatened there. Subsequent to the trip I wrote a blog for Huffington Post British Columbia which they just featured on the front page on their website (above)!

To read the story, see photos, and learn more, please visit: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/tj-watt/not-all-is-well-bc-woods_b_6201668.html

We also received news coverage on the issue from other major news sources:

And here are a few short clips I filmed while exploring the at-risk forest with my partner Jackie:

It's time to see this jewel of nature saved once and for all!

Autumn Colours Near Lake Cowichan

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Autumn, with its rich oranges and yellows, is a beautiful time to be outdoors in many different parts of the world. Here in British Columbia however, in a land where evergreen trees tend to dominate our forests, one has to look a bit harder to find areas bursting the colours we so closely associate with the season. So on an overcast weekend in October, my partner and I went exploring around the creeks and rivers near Lake Cowichan on southern Vancouver Island to find just that. In this region you'll mostly come across younger stands of bigleaf maples and red alders that have grown back after decades of logging but in some places it's still possible to come across small pockets of old-growth deciduous trees. These rare, gentle giants are typically covered from root to crown in thick layers of mosses and licorice ferns, which stand out even more when the leaves have fallen off the trees. Below are a few images from our colour-filled trip. Where are your favourite places to go hunting for Fall colours on the Island or around BC?