Forest Defenders
Created a public awareness campaign in support of protecting Fairy Creek (ancient rainforest) + established communications and organizational strategy / systems for the wider movement.
In 2021 the decentralized civil disobedience movement was growing to protect the last untouched watershed in the ancient temperate rainforest in British Columbia, Canada. The delicate and diverse ecosystem was under threat from continued old-growth logging, contrary to commitments made by governmental agencies stewarding the ancient rainforests.
Living in British Columbia, Canada, I had a chance to visit the untouched wilderness and grew in awareness both of the importance of this forest and the emerging movement, quickly becoming the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history. As I witnessed close friends being arrested unlawfully and diverse community gather in shared pursuit of a noble goal, I became inspired to make my own contributions.
My path to involvement was twofold; spending a weekend creating a public awareness campaign (read the story here) and spending two months collaborating with the emergent leadership of the movement.
I learned that at that time, the decentralized movement was growing from hundreds of dedicated long-term activists to thousands of citizens. In this critical moment, organizational and communications support systems were needed – that’s what I decided to contribute towards.
My contributions
Developed a social awareness campaign (Forest Defenders)
Developed foundational communication and organizational systems/strategies (Last Stand for Forests)
Advised leadership and media team on the ground at HQ (Rainforest Flying Squad)
What I loved about this project
Working towards a meaningful cause, engaging in dynamic activism.
Spending 6 days on the ground supporting leadership and media teams.
Applying my knowledge and experience with decentralized communities.
Highlights
Developing onboarding systems for hundreds of remote volunteers.
Developing social media and traditional press strategies, at a key moment of growth in the protest.
Developing secure media repositories to intake enormous amount of citizen footage.
Capturing and circulating a synthesis of feedback from stakeholders, across the coalition.
Mapping and knowledge capture of coalition stakeholders and initiatives.
The Protest
Long-form documentary (for context)
Short-form news segment (for context)
Community video (for context)
Organizational Framework (reflection of emergent structure)
Social Awareness Campaign
Website
Year : 2021 / Contributions : Anything I had available in my toolbox at any time (you get the idea above) / Collaborators : Too many to name!