B.C. environmental group’s ad campaign during World Cup puts spotlight on old-growth logging
The Sierra Club B.C. ads say an average of 100 soccer fields of old-growth forest are still clear-cut every day in B.C.
Last updated 1 day ago
You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
If you were downtown in Vancouver on Thursday celebrating Canada’s big win at the World Cup you may have noticed several large billboards alerting visitors to one of B.C.’s controversial forest practices.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
- Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
- Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
- Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
- Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
- Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
- Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
- Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
- Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
- Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
- Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
- Access articles from across Canada with one account.
- Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
- Enjoy additional articles per month.
- Get email updates from your favourite authors.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
- Access articles from across Canada with one account
- Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments
- Enjoy additional articles per month
- Get email updates from your favourite authors
Sign In or Create an Account
Environmental group Sierra Club B.C. launched ads this month to coincide with the Cup in Vancouver to put the spotlight on logging of B.C.’s old-growth forest.
The ads, which are online, on buildings, streaming in bars and restaurants, on TV and on billboards downtown and at SkyTrain stations, say an average of 100 soccer fields of old-growth forest in B.C. are still being clear-cut every day. This figure is from a 2025 report by the same group on the state of B.C.’s forests called Closer to the Brink.
“The World Cup reminds us of our unique place in the world when it comes to our forests — they are globally rare and disappearing under our watch. British Columbia is home to some of the last endangered old-growth forests on Earth,” said Shelley Luce, campaign director at Sierra Club B.C., in a statement. “As the world turns its attention to Vancouver, the B.C. government has an opportunity to lead the world by taking real steps to protect these precious ecosystems for future generations.”
B.C.’s Forest Ministry said in an emailed statement that there are 111,000 square kilometres of old forests and, of that, 89,000 are either protected, deferred or uneconomic to harvest, or 80 per cent of old-growth forest.
The Sierra Club says that despite promises to protect old-growth forests, the provincial government continues to allow clear-cutting. But the ministry argues that this practice is declining. The ministry says harvesting estimates show that logging old-growth forest has declined by about 69 per cent since 2015.
Old-growth forests are defined by the province as being older than 250 years in coastal and Interior wet-belt ecosystems and more than 140 years old in Interior dry ecosystems.
-
Advertisement 1Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Last year, conservation groups and First Nations called on the government to act on a five-year-old promise to overhaul the logging industry to protect old-growth forests.
