Dear LFI alumni and friends,

You may have come last summer to be under the cool green expanses of Living Forest Institute, to hear a concert, take a hike, learn to draw, make a forest film and/or site-specific theatre piece in Clack Creek Forest.  Now, Black Mount Logging has come to start logging it.  On a snowy Sunday two weeks ago, they began.

Many of you will remember the big twisted snag that was near our registration table, and the grove of trees where we sat. These trees were cut, about 100 of them before some of our community intercepted them. About 9,900 of the Clack Creek trees still stand. This small group of concerned citizens are keeping a peaceful protest on the road where we parked this summer, and for now, this keeps the logging from continuing. But a court injunction is in the works. The only thing that can stop the logging now is community showing up. 

We invite you, as fellow human beings who care, to join us anytime between 2pm and 4pm on Friday, January 24th to stand with the Forest of a 1,000 hearts. Our gathering is a family-friendly, peaceful and solutionary.   

Meet you on Highway 101 at the B&K Road (aka Largo Road). Park up the B&K Road and not the Highway.  We will be there to hand out heart signs to show our love.

Clack Creek is the habitat for hundreds of species—the signs we are making are hearts that say ‘I Stand with Clack Creek’ on the front, and on the back you can fill in your own reason for standing up. ‘I stand for the Coastal Red Legged Frog’, ‘I stand for the Roosevelt Elk’. For many of us, Clack Creek was the first place we saw the rare Snow Bramble. You can stand for that.

You can also stand for the trees in their roles as carbon sequesteriers in this time of climate emergency. You can stand for the Expansion of the Mt Elphinstone Provincial Park and the preservation of rare low and mid elevation temperate rainforests. You can stand for fungi, over 150 kinds in this forest. There are just so many reasons to keep Clack Creek Forest intact.

No local jobs are at stake, no wood from this block was slated to be processed in our local mill. No benefit comes of logging this parcel of natural forest. We have everything to gain if it stays standing.  If you feel the same, we hope you will join us on Friday for this action.  We are all that there is now between this forest standing and falling.

Bring your family, your friends, your colleagues. Spread the word by forwarding this invitation.  We are ready to grow the circle of protectors and make the existence of Clack Creek Forest undeniable.  Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” 

Will you help keep the trees standing? It is the time. Join us in hopes the BC Government will hear our voices and stop the logging!