But there’s also hope

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Update: From now until the end of the year, two of our generous donors has offered to match your donations, up to $7000. That means that your gift for wildlife and wild places will be doubled.
Give now and double your impact!


We need your help to protect our wildlife, water, plants and the wild spaces that support them. This is a critical moment. All around the world, people have been standing up, raising their voices to demand real climate action from our leaders and governments. It has been inspiring to see people working together to demand meaningful change. 

You can help create change too. Will you give $40 today and stand up for the wildlife and wild places you hold dear? Protecting and connecting habitat in your own backyard makes a difference not only where you live, but has ripple effects across Canada and the entire continent. We are all in this together. 

A changing climate threatens the diverse ecosystems that support life not only in the Kootenays, but on the whole planet. The average temperature in our region has increased by 1.5 degrees in the last century—more than twice the average global temperature increase. 

But there’s also hope. Our region’s connected wild systems have been rated by scientists as one of the best places on the planet to weather the impacts of climate change. But not if we let our remaining intact wilderness be cut up into pieces. Not if we don’t stand up for wildlife and wild spaces, connecting crucial habitat in all directions. Will you donate $40 today to fight for our intact wild ecosystems—to fight for our natural world? 

Your donation will help speak to all levels of government, letting them know that the important wild places in our region, incomparable places in the Purcells and Southern Rockies, need to be protected. Now.  

Your $40 gift will help protect important habitat in our region and keep it connected to wild places across the continent. Without connected habitat, wildlife cannot move across the landscape. Without intact wilderness, we have no chance of dealing with the effects created by climate change. 

Our youth have been leading the charge in the global climate change fight, and we believe that youth will lead the way for wildlife and wilderness in our region as well. After all, our youth will inherit everything: all of our choices, for better or for worse. 

Your generous gift will have a long-lasting effect, helping our region’s youth learn about climate change and empowering them to make a difference. This summer, we took 16 youth from the Kootenays on the second annual Columbia River Field School: an unforgettable canoe trip on the Columbia where they learned on and from the river about important issues like salmon, ecology, climate change and power. This group of inspiring teenagers not only learned how to navigate and paddle an immense waterway, they grew into leaders, fired up to make a difference in their communities and beyond.

The issues we’re facing right now are complex and often overwhelming. We have to think both locally and globally, both short-term and long-term in order to face the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. We need a long-term vision but we need to act now. 

The only way we can create hope in these often depressing times is to take action; to be inspired by those who are taking action all around us. Together we can make a difference. It’s up to us.

For the wild,

John Bergenske, Executive Director

p.s. If you can, please consider giving $20/month to help protect wild places and wildlife all year round. Thank you for all of your support.

 

Header photo by Douglas Noblet, John photo by Garrett Grove