Thursday, March 17
Garden Room, Sooke Harbour House, 1528 Whiffen Spit Road, Sooke
7:00-8:30 pm
Join the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce and the Ancient Forest Alliance for a special event
Event to raise funds and awareness to ensure the protection of old-growth forests, in particular the Avatar Grove, an endangered stand of easily accessible, monumental ancient trees only a 15 minute drive from Port Renfrew.
Port Renfrew is “Canada’s Big Trees Capital”, with the largest Douglas fir on Earth (the Red Creek Fir), the largest spruce tree in Canada (the San Juan Spruce), and the Avatar Grove (akin to the “Cathedral Grove of Port Renfrew”), all in close proximity to town. See some spectacular photos at: http://www.ancientforestalliance.org/galleries.php.
This summer the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce is aiming to hire a new staff person for their new Information Centre where thousands of visitors will be directed to visit the Avatar Grove and ancient forests nearby. This will greatly help to raise the needed awareness about our endangered old-growth forests, and will generate greater tourism to the region in Port Renfrew, Sooke, Lake Cowichan, Duncan, and Victoria, as friends tell friends to come and see the area’s incredible ancient trees.
The Ancient Forest Alliance is working in cooperation with the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, a relatively small chamber, to help raise the needed funds for this initiative. This is a ground-breaking model cooperation between local businesses and a conservation group for environmental protection to benefit the local economy and future generations.
Whether you are a local business owner or an individual, please JOIN US if you are interested in supporting this project:
- Have a FREE DRINK, APPETIZERS, and MINGLE with the local conservationists and local business owners in the Sooke Harbour House, one of the most esteemed gourmet restaurants and inns in Canada (see http://www.sookeharbourhouse.com).
- See a SPECTACULAR SLIDESHOW by Ken Wu and TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance, featuring Watt’s award-winning images of the Avatar Grove, Red Creek Fir, San Juan Spruce, and largest trees in Canada – all close to Port Renfrew!
- Hear ROSIE BETSWORTH, president of the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, and JON CASH, a director of the Sooke Region Tourism Association, speak about why local businesses and tourism interests should promote and support protection for the Avatar Grove and ancient trees in the area.
- Join ADRIANE CARR, former Wilderness Committee director and current Deputy Leader of Canada’s Green Party, for a PLEDGE AUCTION FUNDRAISER where participants can donate towards the project at whatever level they are comfortable with.
- The top 10 donors will each receive a large print of the spectacular photos by TJ Watt of the largest trees in Canada.
If you want to attend this fundraiser to support this project, please RSVP to come to this important event and to bring supportive friends and family. RSVP by emailing info@ancientforestalliance.org and let us know how many people you are bringing.
See you soon!
Filed under: Upcoming Events on March 14th, 2011 | No Comments »