A call to action: Community stories of the CDF

Raincoast invites you to share your personal accounts of connection to CDF ecosystems and observations of how they may have changed over time.

Stretching from the south-east of Vancouver Island, across  most of the Gulf Islands, and along a small sliver of  the southern coast of mainland British Columbia, the Coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) biogeoclimatic zone is a unique set of forests and associated habitats that are some of the most biodiverse in the province. But, with more than 99% of the original forest removed, and limited protection of the remaining land base, almost every ecological community associated within the CDF zone is provincially listed as threatened or endangered.

Understanding what makes CDF forests and associated habitats so ecologically and culturally significant is an important part in protecting them.

Coastal Douglas-fir tree in a forest.
Photo by Alex Harris.

Telling the story of the CDF

Since February 2022 , Raincoast’s Gulf Islands Forest Project Coordinator, Shauna Doll, has been curating a series of interviews with Traditional Knowledge Holders, ecologists, conservation scientists, social scientists, ethnobotanists, and other experts to tell the story of the CDF. One of the aims of this series has been to bring the extensive knowledge of these experts to a wider audience, and while it is essential to share the Traditional and academic understandings of CDF ecosystems, there is still a voice missing: yours.

Since the inception of the Gulf Islands Forest Project, community members have been reaching out to Raincoast to share their stories and experiences of the CDF ecosystems that surround them. Many of those who write to us are looking for ways to engage in protecting these precious places. Taking their cue, we  are calling on the larger community to send us their stories. To contribute, send your stories to Shauna Doll (shauna [at] raincoast [dot] org).  We welcome your unique submissions, but if you are looking for some inspiration to get started, we have included a few questions for your consideration below.

Story starters

  • How/Why are CDF ecosystems important to you?
  • Have you observed any significant change within these ecosystems?  
  • What has inspired your passion for protecting CDF ecosystems? 

Collecting your stories and/or observations of change will not only broaden understanding of CDF ecosystems,  but it also provides an opportunity for community engagement and science to work collaboratively. Shared stories will help Raincoast to direct conservation efforts in alignment with community interest.

Orange mushrooms in the moss
Photo by Alex Harris / Raincoast Conservation Foundation.

At no point in history is preserving intact ecosystems more urgent. The twin biodiversity and climate crises are anticipated to bring unprecedented change to ecosystem function.  With your help, we can move forward towards a collective future that promotes ecological resilience through conservation and restoration initiatives. 

Contact

Gulf Islands Forest Project Coordinator
shauna [at] raincoast [dot] org

You can help

Raincoast’s in-house scientists, collaborating graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors make us unique among conservation groups. We work with First Nations, academic institutions, government, and other NGOs to build support and inform decisions that protect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the wildlife that depend on them. We conduct ethically applied, process-oriented, and hypothesis-driven research that has immediate and relevant utility for conservation deliberations and the collective body of scientific knowledge.

We investigate to understand coastal species and processes. We inform by bringing science to decision-makers and communities. We inspire action to protect wildlife and wildlife habitats.

Coastal wolf with a salmon in its month.
Photo by Dene Rossouw.