Merve and Anne Wilkinson, who spent their lives managing forested areas sustainably on Vancouver Island, have both passed away — Merve recently and Anne a few years ago.
They were very special people and their impact in the region will live on forever.
In 1938, Merve purchased a property called Wildwood, a forested area where he worked tirelessly to tell people that there is an alternative to industrial forestry.
Throughout his life, Merve argued against the senseless destruction of clearcutting, which he rightly noted is neither good for the forest’s health, nor the long-term sustainability of a local economy based on forestry.
In 1993, both Merve and his wife Anne stood together in a protest blockade when MacMillan Bloedel, a forestry company, planned to clearcut a parts of Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island. They were arrested along with 850 others, and Merve was sentenced to 100 hours of community service.
This video tribute to the couple, was recently uploaded by EcofilmsbyEHomer:
thegreenpages.ca 