In British Columbia, deforestation is occurring at an incredibly quick rate. From the 60 million hectares of forest that originally made up the province, only 22 million hectares remain, putting wildlife and animals at an accelerated risk of extinction.

One of the most well-known old growth forests in British Columbia has particularly been hit hard with the loss of its agriculture. Fairy Creek is home to trees of up to a thousand years old and is located on the traditional, unceded territory of the Pachneedant First Nation peoples. With the loss of these sacred trees, many protests and movements have been created in order to attempt to save this land. However, the protests were ultimately disrespectful to the Indigenous community as their land was further disrespected.

My feature article highlights the impacts of deforestation on climate change, agriculture and wildlife specifically in British Columbia. The article focuses on the statistics regarding the rapid deforestation as well as the animals at risk of extinction because of the removal of their homes. Furthermore, my feature article specifically focuses on the fight for the Fairy Creek forests that remain the home to Vancouver Island’s sacred old growth trees. There is a huge emphasis on the perspective of Indigenous communities and highlights the ways in which the Fairy Creek protests were an unethical fight for justice.