By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Elijah Washington pushes through wet ferns and branches left by logging, crossing the mossy forest floor on Haida Gwaii. He kneels beside a massive western red cedar stump. The cedar was felled decades ago during the industrial logging boom that cleared swaths of old growth across the archipelago off British Columbia\u2019s north coast, leaving a hollow, decaying stump. Its top has since been trimmed with a chainsaw to fit a plywood sheet, capped with weather-resistant roofing material and covered with thick green moss collected from the surrounding woods. Near the base, an opening roughly the width of Washington\u2019s safety helmet leads into a sheltered hollow lined with moss. \u201cYou just want it to be small enough for a mother bear… <\/p>\n
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Elijah Washington pushes through wet ferns and branches left by logging, crossing the mossy forest floor on Haida Gwaii. He kneels beside a massive western red cedar stump. The cedar was felled decades ago during the industrial logging boom that cleared swaths of old growth across the archipelago off British Columbia\u2019s north coast, leaving a hollow, decaying stump. Its top has since been trimmed with a chainsaw to fit a plywood sheet, capped with weather-resistant roofing material and covered with thick green moss collected from the surrounding woods. Near the base, an opening roughly the width of Washington\u2019s safety helmet leads into a sheltered hollow lined with moss. \u201cYou just want it to be small enough for a mother bear... <\/p>\n