Friends of the Forest Stand Trial

In an unheeded plea to the judge “to do the right thing” defense lawyer Naomi Atkin argued passionately for the planet. “Your honour, I am scared, not only for myself but for every living soul on the Earth. We don’t know it but by killing our Earth we are slowly killing ourselves. …Have you not seen the animals your honour? Have you not heard their calls for help? What about the trees your honour? We are cutting down these trees to give us more, but we are actually giving ourselves less.”

While the trial was a project, part of the school’s Earth Summit, these fears are not fiction. The students really are frightened about their futures. "We have plans for our future and they can all be destroyed because of the state of planet,” says Julia Borenstein, who recalls being scared by predictions that because of global warming and the ensuing collapse of the Gulf Stream that there was going to be an ice age

When she was “littler,” Meghan O’Hara heard similar apocalyptic predictions. However, after learning more, she found out that there is a lot that can be done to prevent global warming. That includes saving forests.

The Great Bear Rainforest on Canada’s west coast is a long way away from this downtown Toronto school, so why should the students be concerned? David Rouse thinks we should all care because, he knowingly explains,  “Logging in the Great Bear Rainforest doesn’t just affect BC; it affects  everyone because when trees are cut down, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere causing global warming.” He obviously has done his research.

In fact, the students did quite a lot of research, starting with the Greenpeace website where they first learned about logging in the coastal temperate rainforest and how it threatened the habitat of many wild and wonderful animals including the rare and elusive white spirit bear. Called as a witness for the defense, along with a tree, Spirit Bear spoke movingly about how it was becoming difficult to catch fish in streams that had been inundated with silt resulting from logging and to find the berries that sustain the bears once huge swaths of land had been clearcut.  Meanwhile Big Timber, played by Blake Drohan, Taylor Thomas and David Rouse, made the usual excuses arguing that jobs would be lost, impoverishing and displacing families if logging was curtailed. With the police, played by Ryan Bauldry, on side, Big Timber pressed for charges against the protesters.

“By taking on roles for and against the issue, we’ve had to study both sides,” says Naomi. “What we learned is that each side has their valid points. It helps us understand that there’s more to protecting the environment than just taking action: There is also educating and convincing that we have to do.”

But, Genny (Genevieve Dow) Greenleaf and Evan (Shabsove) Earthwatch believe they had to take action. “We were willing to put ourselves on the line for the cause. Even if we got arrested or sent to jail, that’s ok. Obviously, we made a stir to get people to notice what we are saying,” said Even sounding very much like a Greenpeace activist.

“In the end we let the plaintiff win because that is what happens in our society," explained Naomi. “If we had let the protesters win, that would have been a good story but in real life that is not how it turns out.” Judge Julia found the protestors guilty because, she argued, “The interests of those making money usually win.”

And whose fault is it that the planet is facing a crisis? Blake doesn’t blame the older generation of his parents. “They didn’t know what they were doing, didn’t know how it would affect their children or their children’s children.”

But Matthew Folli is prepared to point fingers. “I blame people because the people who could make a difference are not doing anything to help, like politicians and world leaders.” And he has some advice for those leaders: First, they should give groups like Greenpeace more power to make change. Secondly Matthew thinks that the politicians should get outside more and do something positive “like planting trees instead of sitting in the offices all day in front of their computers.”

That is what Evan is doing to reduce his personal carbon consumption – playing outside more instead of sitting in front of the TV. “And it’s fun!”

There are many stories of hope and challenge about the Greenpeace’s Great Bear Rainforest campaign.  After decades of standing ground, a solution exists.  Visit http://standtall.greenpeace.ca to find out more and help save this precious forest.