Following up on Charly’s post earlier this week, we couldn’t resist sharing a few more photos of the spectacular Walbran Valley. If these don’t make you want to skip that midterm you’ve got coming up and go adventuring, we don’t know what will. Enjoy!
These photographs are courtesy of the wonderfully talented Busta Pbj.
By Charly Caproff
The Walbran Valley is one of the last remaining intact old growth red cedar forests on southern Vancouver Island. This ecologically diverse area contains impressive stands of coniferous trees that are thousands of years old. During the ‘war of the woods’ over a decade ago, the Walbran Valley was the center of heated protests between industry and conservationists. Recently, it was revealed that the logging company Teal-Jones intends to clear-cut sections of this pristine environment, which has ignited organizations, such as the Wilderness Committee, Sierra Club BC, the Ancient Forest Alliance and The Friends of the Carmanah/Walbran to speak out and fight for the protection of this forest ecosystem.
Karst is a landscape that is formed from the underground erosion of soluble rocks like limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. The erosion forms underground openings, caves, and streams that support unique ecosystems. Karst landscape can be easily damaged by activities such as logging and road building.
If the old-growth forest underlain by karst is logged, the area could become a desolate landscape, compromising the water quality of the drainages.
What better way to kick off the SFU Science Undergraduate Research Journal’s blog, than with an interview about SFU SURJ? We promise we’re not complete narcissists – we are just real stoked on this project!
Recently, Emma Atkinson (SFU SURJ Executive Editor) sat down with the host of the CJSF radio program, “Health Matters” to discuss SFU SURJ and undergraduate research on a more general scale.
Listen to the interview (in all its glory) here.
You can listen to “Health Matters” the last Wednesday of every month on SFU Ideas & Issues at 12:00pm. SFU Ideas & Issues presents news, research and stories from SFU’s students, campuses and communities. Got a story idea? Contact their Public Affairs Coordinator at CJSFpa@sfu.ca. Want to get involved? They’ve got tons of ways to participate on air, behind the scenes and in the community. Visit www.cjsf.ca/signup to attend one of their weekly orientations.
SFU Science Undergraduate Research Journal 