On Vancouver Island, the Cumberland Community Forest Society shows what is possible when a community takes conservation into its own hands.
Formed 25 years ago in response to logging near the village of Cumberland in the Comox Valley, the group has secured 545 acres of forest in five separate purchases along the south side of the village. While its primary mission remains buying privately owned timberlands to look after them, it achieves this by bringing together hundreds of people around a shared goal: caring for places they love.
The Cumberland Forest stands in the Nanaimo Lowlands, a strip of land sheltered by surrounding mountains. This rain shadow microclimate is warmer and drier than the rest of the island, and home to a rich, distinctive biodiversity of plants and animals. Wetlands, creeks, rocky ridges, and forests are part of this ecosystem, providing important habitat for many species. Birds, cougars, bears, beavers, black-tailed deer, amphibians, coho salmon, sculpin, and countless invertebrates have all been spotted here.