Quinault rainforest, Olympic National Park, Washington state, United States
© Chris Moore/Tandem Stills + Motio
A lush kingdom. World Rainforest Day
June 22 is World Rainforest Day, a global moment and a year-round call to protect the world's remaining rainforests. These ecosystems aren't just dots on the map. They thrive across the tropics and beyond yet cover only about 6% of Earth's surface. Think of the Amazon in South America, the Congo Basin in Africa and the forests of Southeast Asia.
Quinault, in Olympic National Park in Washington, is a primeval temperate rainforest. Rain and fog keep it growing, turning every branch into a living surface. Look closer and you'll see lush, damp abundance: Sitka spruce and western hemlock, bigleaf maples dressed in mosses and ferns and 'nurse logs' where new trees germinate on fallen giants. The forest floor is a soft laboratory of fungi, insects and amphibians. For Canadians, British Columbia's temperate rainforests offer a closer connection to these landscapes, with towering cedars, moss-covered trails and rich biodiversity waiting to be explored. Let's show up for forests and protect what's still standing.
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