Volunteer-built boardwalk showcases protected old-growth near Port Renfrew

Volunteers on Vancouver Island hope the completion of aboardwalk through asectionof old-growth forest near Port Renfrew will help prove that B.C.'s giant trees are more valuable standing.

The ancient trees inAvatar Grove have been protected from logging since 2012.

But the trails and boardwalk to make them accessible to tourists for viewing,led by the Ancient Forest Alliance,has taken four years to complete.

"Hundreds of people have come out to help, to carry buckets of gravel up through the trail, to carry heavy boardwalk planks, hammering thousands of nails and swatting a million mosquitos," said T.J. Watt, boardwalk coordinator for the group.

Port Renfrew has long relied on forestry and commercial fishing as main industries. But outdoor recreation and eco-tourism are a growing part of the economy.

In recent years, the town has even rebranded as Canada's tall tree capital, thanks in part to thethousands of visitors per year who now come to see the big trees in Avatar Grove, Watt said.

"Avatar Grove really is a case study in showing how protecting old-growth forest can be a huge boom to the economy rather than hindering it," he said.

Materials for the project were paid for through public donations and grants from companies such as MEC and Patagonia, Watt said.

Avatar Grove is located on Crown landwithin the traditional territory of the Pacheedaht First Nation. Itreceived protection from loggingfollowing a two-year awareness campaign by the Ancient Forest Alliance.

Now that the boardwalk is complete, Watt says attention will now turn to protecting other old-growth areas in B.C.

One such areawas discovered this springbetween Port Renfrew and Jordan River. It has beendubbed Jurassic Grove for the size of the trees.

"We feel that other communities around British Columbia can look to Port Renfrew as an example of how they can protect old growth forest in their own community and stand to benefit from that," he said.

"We are not saying end all logging across the province. We just need to do it in a smarter, more sustainable way."