Ancient forest, sheltered channels, hotsprings, and sea-beings. A self-supported kayak expedition along the east coast of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, navigating by charts and compass. No resupply, no cell service.
Gwaii Haanas · Haida Gwaii · British Columbia
For all its tremendous beauty, Gwaii Haanas carries real scars, as a park born through the fight to stop clearcut old-growth logging in the 1980s. We're paddling its coastline to experience the powerful legacy of the place, and to gain a sense of how the islands are adapting on their own terms, with active stewardship and co-management by the Haida and Parks Canada.
We'll visit the streams by old logging areas; kelp beds recovering from collapse; and take some readings of the warming, acidifying ocean that's threatening the ways of life, here and in every coastal community.
The ingredients for creating a personal work of the journey and low-impact media (no photography, no film), with pending permission from the Haida Nation.
Our efforts of noticing, sketching and recording are more than for personal transformation. As we grapple with the questions that arise, we will look to create something we can return to the island. A way we can make the data legible, to an existing group that can benefit.