The Fairy Creek Blockades were the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian History. This is the stat that often comes up, and it relates to how many people were arrested to stand in the way of industry and police to protect and preserve the old growth forests on Vancouver Island, in Pacheedat territory.
I was there and documented some of the experience. Sadly, though, much of my footage was lost, as well as some standout photos. That’s too bad. I have much to say about the experience, and it has really soured my trust of the police and the institutions that our country is founded on.
Preserving The Forests
Saving Old-Growth forests is more than just performative grandstanding on behalf of environmental salvation. Forests hold the water in the soil to prevent flooding, prevent landslides, and naturally clean the air and sustain life on Earth. There are a multitude of reasons why it’s important to preserve our forests but the greatest is that we are all part of giant ecosystems, and the forests are some of the most precious.
Living in British Columbia, I have a close relationship with old forests, and hope to continue to have that over time. We are all connected, whether humans accept that fact or not. Losing touch with our connection to the forest is a big piece of why we have so much division and hurt in our world.
My Video on the Fairy Creek Blockades
The following is a video I made to share my love of the people and the movement that hopefully changed the course of history. It’s my true belief that every little bit helps, and so I made this video to share with the world, so that they could get a glimpse into life there.
Resources to educate yourself
Here are a few good links on stories to help you understand what really went down there:
The Narwhal reported before, during, and after the blockades. Here’s a roundup of a bunch of articles they contributed.
Stand.earth offered some great reporting on the blockades in their efforts to wake people up to the damage.
CBC was there over the years, and continue to do so with their coverage of the trials. For a public broadcaster, it was encouraging to see so much coverage on the issues that still persist to this day.
