Editor:
The Fort St. James Sustainability Group recently hosted the Great Bear Rainforest RAVE (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition) photo show at the Library, featuring images by world-famous nature photographers, many of whom are featured regularly in National Geographic. These photographs illustrate the natural wonders of the Great Bear Rainforest and B.C.’s coast, areas that will be changed forever if the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline is built.
This exhibit didn’t happen without the help of lots of folks here in Fort, and I would like to thank them publicly. The Board and staff of the Fort St. James Bicentennial Library were very supportive, allowing us to display the photos in the library mezzanine area. Library staff in particular went above and beyond – thank you so much Diana, Flora, Wendy, and Alison. Dennis Saharchuk and the District Public Works staff did all of the heavy lifting, and I really appreciate that, given the state of my muscles. Thank you to Pat Gauthier, Charlotte Croquet and Sandy Willick, and Kevin Gedling at the Historic Park for the loan of display easels. Thanks to everyone who came to see the show, and who stopped by to talk about how the Enbridge proposal could impact our area. And thanks Kelly for helping with the installation – those photos really were heavy!
This was the final B.C. showing of this world-class exhibit. From Fort St. James the photo exhibit moves to Toronto and New York, and from there to Europe for an extended tour. If you didn’t get a chance to come by the library to see the display you can visit it online at: “http://www.ilcp.com/projects/great-bear-rainforest-rave”
As one local visitor wrote “The photos are beautiful, but I hope we can preserve more than just pictures. Let’s stop tankers from working our coast.”
Kandace Kerr
Fort St James, BC