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Following his film and discussion, join TJ Watt’s “Tree Hunter Party” at the REACH for Tree Hunter encounters with special guests such as forest ecologist and conservationist Andy MacKinnon, projections of incredible ancient trees from around the world, music, and a cash bar with themed drinks!

TJ Watt

TJ Watt is an award-winning nature and conservation photographer from Victoria, British Columbia. Combining his passion for rainforest conservation with professional photography, TJ sheds light on BC’s endangered old-growth forests in an effort to help see them saved. A self-described ‘big-tree hunter,’ he can often be found driving rough backroads and exploring remote regions of Vancouver Island in search of the last old-growth giants.

TJ is also a co-founder, campaigner, and photographer with the Ancient Forest Alliance, a non-profit organization that works to protect BC’s old-growth forests and ensure a sustainable second-growth forest industry. In 2021, he was named a National Geographic and Royal Canadian Geographical Society Explorer after being one of the first recipients of a grant from the Trebek Initiative.

His images have helped bolster numerous environmental campaigns led by his own organization and others. They’ve also played a pivotal role in securing the protection of important areas such as the renowned Avatar Grove near Port Renfrew. From the country’s biggest trees to its widest stumps, TJ’s photos have been featured in museums, magazines, news stories, and art exhibits across Canada and around the world.

Andy MacKinnon

Andy MacKinnon is a forest ecologist and conservationist from southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia (BC). His research interests include: structure, function, and composition of western North America’s coastal temperate rainforests, from southeast Alaska to Oregon; and ecology and distribution of BC’s native plant and fungal species. Andy teaches university undergraduate forest ecology field courses in Bamfield, Tofino, and Haida Gwaii, BC. He has also been a dedicated big tree hunter for some decades, and Chaired BC’s Big Trees Committee from 1997–2018.

Andy is co-author of six best-selling books about plants of western North America, and of 2021’s Royal BC Museum Handbook Mushrooms of British Columbia. He works with local First Nations, land trusts, and non-profit agencies to protect old-growth forests and ecosystems in BC.