Day 3 of the royal visit: Will and Kate in rainy Bella Bella
Prince William endorses Great Bear Rainforest under Queen's Commonwealth Canopy initiative
It was too stormy to tour the Great Bear by air.
West Coast weather on Monday scuttled Prince William and Kate's plans for an aerial tour of the Great Bear Rainforest on B.C.'s Central Coast, but their visit to a First Nations community went ahead as planned. William and Kate are in B.C. on an eight-day Royal visit.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge greeted elders in Bella Bella on Day 3.
A welcome ceremony was planned for a new dock in the remote coastal community, but the weather forced organizers to move the event to the Wawiskas Community Hall.
A $1-million conservation trust was announced during the royal visit.
The rainy weather didn't stop William from endorsing the Great Bear Rainforest under the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy initiative. B.C. Premier Christy Clark, who joined the royal couple in Bella Bella, announced the $1-million trust meant to raise awareness and support research in the remote coastal area.
The Queen's Canopy Commonwealth initiative launched in 2015 and aims to to create a network of forest conservation programs in all 53 Commonwealth countries.
Although the royals couldn't tour the Great Bear Rainforest by air, they still took a walk through the forest with the premier and received canoe paddles while unveiling a new plaque in the rainforest.
And, back in Victoria, they saw the Witness Blanket and Black Rod.
After their visit to Bella Bella the duke and duchess returned to Victoria where the saw the Witness Blanket — an art installation commemorating residential-school survivors — and took part in a ceremony at the B.C. Legislature to add a ring representing indigenous people to the ceremonial Black Rod.
Day 4 will see them travel to Kelowna before heading north to Yukon Tuesday evening.
