It’s only mid-May, and our 2016 trail building season is already halfway over.

So far this year, we’ve led three trips – two to the Walbran Valley, and one to Wah-nuh-jus—Hilthoo-is (Meares Island) Tribal Park in Clayoquot Sound. Over three weekends, we’ve mobilized dozens of volunteers on multi-night trips to the old-growth rainforests that Vancouver Island is legendary for.

At the Wilderness Committee we do our best to bring photos, video and written and verbal accounts of these globally significant and exceptionally powerful landscapes to as many people as we can. However, there is simply no substitute for direct experience.

There’s no way you can spend three or four days in the Walbran or in Wah-nuh-jus—Hilthoo-is and not become a lifelong advocate for old-growth conservation. This inspiration is just as important as the physical work we get done on these trips.

Wilderness Committee volunteers building boardwalk in the Walbran

This year we’re undertaking one our most ambitious field seasons yet on Vancouver Island. Our fight to save the central Walbran Valley has emerged as the busiest campaign in our Victoria office, and earlier this year we highlighted building trails into this imminently threatened rainforest as key tactic.

But we didn’t want to forgo our project in Wah-nuh-jus—Hilthoo-is, our joint initiative with the Tla-o-qui-aht Nation that has had great success over the last few summers.

So, being optimists, we decided to do both.

For each of these projects, the goal is slightly different.

In the Walbran, we’re working with the Friends of Carmanah-Walbran to build trails into rare old-growth stands that have been slated for logging by the Surrey-based company Teal Jones. It’s a tactic we’ve used over the decades, which is an integral part of protecting old-growth from the Carmanah Valley to the Elaho. Having more people visit intact old-growth in the Central Walbran is the last thing Teal Jones wants, so that’s exactly what we’re doing.

Wilderness Committee volunteers with a simple message in the threatened Walbran Valley

Our volunteers cannot believe that the forests they’re walking through could be cut down. I’ve lost track of the times I’ve had to confirm that yes, Teal Jones is looking to move ahead with this logging, and yes, the BC government continues to ignore the public on this (you can send them a reminder, here.)

We’ve got a lot of work done so far, with several hundred metres of boardwalk installed. This work has the approval of the Pacheedaht Nation (whose unceded territory the Central Walbran sits within), and is being done in advance of the summer, when we expect thousands of citizens to visit this endangered area.

View of Clayoquot Sound from the shores of Wah-nuh-jus--Hilthoois Tribal Park

In Clayoquot Sound, the situation is a little bit different. The Tla-o-qui-aht and Ahousaht Nations declared Wah-nuh-jus—Hilthoo-is a Tribal Park in 1984, and the island has been protected under a federal court injunction since 1985.

A major goal of the Tla-o-qui-aht’s Tribal Parks program is to increase the Nation’s participation and control in the region’s tourism industry. This revamp starts with upgrading trails, boardwalk and other infrastructure within their Tribal Parks. The Tla-o-qui-aht guardians supply the expertise, and we supply the volunteers.

In addition to rainforest immersion, our teams are also exposed to the knowledge and culture of the people who have been living in this lush ecosystem, and the experience is so much richer for it.

Indigenous peoples and settlers working together on a project that benefits the environment is something that should have been happening on this coast all along, and I’m proud to work for an organization that prioritizes this.

Wilderness Committee volunteers in Wah-nuh-jus--Hilthoois Tribal Park

We’ve got three more trips scheduled for this season – one more to the Walbran Valley, and two more to Clayoquot Sound. These trips are almost full, but you can contact our Engagement Coordinator Emily for more information: emily@wildernesscommittee.org. Depending on what develops in the Walbran Valley, we may plan another trip or two for the early fall, so stay tuned for more information on that.

If you can’t make it out on one of these trips, keep in mind that trail building is just one way that volunteers power the work that we do here at the Wilderness Committee. Here in our Victoria office, we host regular volunteer nights on the last Wednesday of the month at 5:30pm. If you haven’t come out yet, we’d love to see you here!

Finally, we couldn’t do our trail building projects without the generosity of our donors and supporters. You can contribute towards our program and help us cover the cost of mobilizing volunteers into the rainforest here.

Every year, I’m reminded of how powerful it is to work together with like-minded people in the places we’re working so hard to protect. We rely on donations from supporters, which go towards creating fulfilling trips like these. 

See you on the trail,

Torrance Coste | Vancouver Island Campaigner