PROVINCIAL FUNDING HELPS YOUTH EXPERIENCE B.C. FORESTS

VANCOUVER – A $100,000 grant to the Junior Forest Wardens Association of B.C. will help promote forest stewardship among British Columbia’s youth, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell announced today.

“British Columbians want our province to be known around the world as a leader in growing trees and sustainable forest management,” said Bell. “They want to make sure we have healthy forests that continue to support and enrich our communities 40, 50, and 60 years down the road. I can think of no better way to make that happen than by reaching out to the next generation of forest stewards.”

Junior forest wardens are six to 18 years of age and learn about tree, plant and wildlife species, soil types as well as water and resource management. The program is outdoor-oriented with activities including camping, backpacking, canoeing, mountaineering, and tree planting.

The association will use the funding to promote junior forest wardens provincewide and enhance Internet resources that can be used by clubs and wardens in communities across British Columbia. The organization currently has clubs in Squamish, the Sunshine Coast and Richmond.

To commemorate the funding, Bell joined the junior wardens in planting a Douglas fir tree in Stanley Park, near a Douglas fir that junior wardens planted 77 years ago. That tree was planted in 1931 with soil collected by wardens from every part of the province and stands between the dining pavilion and salmon stream.

“The Junior Forest Wardens Association of BC is thrilled to receive this funding to renew an organization with a history dating back more than three-quarters of a century,” said Karen Haasjes, the association’s president. “We are excited to be a part of introducing today’s youth to the natural environment of the forest and the roles it plays in all our lives.”

“To ensure the sustainability of our forests for generations to come, we must have young people who are interested in learning about forestry today,” said Sharon Glover, CEO of the Association of BC Forest Professionals. “Today’s children will benefit from enhanced Junior Forest Wardens programs and we hope many will carry on to become the forest professionals of tomorrow.”

The Junior Forest Wardens Association started in the spring of 1930 after an article appeared in an outdoors magazine, detailing a few young boys’ report of a Bowen Island fire to a forest ranger. The program was established as children from across British Columbia asked how they could help preserve the province’s forests.

The tree planting is also a celebration in advance of National Forest Week, which runs from Sept. 21 to 27 this year, and reflects the growing appreciation of the environmental, human, economic, urban and rural dimensions of forest resources. National Forest Week originated in 1920 as Forest Fire Prevention Week and evolved into National Forest Week in 1967.

Photos of the event will be posted at www.for.gov.bc.ca/pab/media/.

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Contact:

Sophia Proctor

Public Affairs Officer

Ministry of Forests and Range

250 387-4592

Karen Haasjes

Junior Forest Wardens Association of BC

President

604 848-4111

Amanda Brittain

Director of Communications

Association of BC Forest Professionals

778 233-1169




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