About Us
WhereDoWeStand.ca is a gathering place committed to advocating for public engagement about the greater good of our Six Mountain Community Forest.
WhereDoWeStand.ca is managed by Icel Dobell and Rob Fullerton.
Icel is a community advocate and co-founder of WhereDoWeStand. Icel wrote and directed four short films about the Six Mountain Community Forest.
Rob manages the website, social media campaigns and is a volunteer on the North Cowichan Forest Review Public Engagement Working Group.
WhereDoWestand.ca is a blog powered by the donated time of it's volunteers. (We are no longer a BC Society and we do not accept donations, membership fees or run paid election ads and we are not affiliated with any other environmental or political organization).
Where Do We Stand began with a few concerned citizens and quickly evolved into a grass roots movement. It is a film, a community event, a facebook page and a website. Our one shared message is stated by the petition and signed by over 1500 citizens.
"We are requesting a pause in all logging of the North Cowichan Municipal Forests to allow time for public consultation on the future of our six public forest reserves. In light of accelerating ecological, economic, and social changes, I believe that the public requires in-depth information from a broad range of experts on the forests."
40,000+ people have viewed the first film, 1,500 people signed the petition, 30,000 people visited our website, 900 people submitted comments, 800+ people subscribe to our newsletter, and 650 people attended the 6 Mountains Event at the Performing Arts Centre.
More than 60 volunteers have donated thousands of hours.
Changes enacted since the Forest Campaign started:
Municipal logging contracts are now publicly tendered
The Forest Advisory Committee has been expanded to include a more diverse group of stakeholders
Individual clearcut plans are now discussed and approved at Council Meetings
Clearcut plans are now available to the public prior to starting the work.
University of British Columbia (UBC Forestry) and 3GreenTree Ecosystems Services are assisting in mapping the forest inventory and preparing forest management options
The Municipality contracted Lees & Associates to create a Working Group comprised of local volunteers that worked with staff to design and conduct a survey and series of workshops.
3GreenTree Ecosystems Services has conducted a Forest Carbon Project Feasibility Project and concluded that the project is not only feasible, it is a viable forest management option.
North Cowichan Municipality has signed a Memorandum Of Understanding and started parallel discussions with the Quw’utsun.
North Cowichan has launched public engagement on the Four Forest Management Scenarios including a new website, 2 online workshops, online survey, a statistical phone survey and an in person open house. This phase of the project ran till the end of January 2023
Where Do We Stand Performing Arts Forest Meeting