Last week, my six-year-old daughter asked me if we could go for a walk. It’d been a busy weekend and I could tell she was overwhelmed, so we wandered down to Lois Creek, behind our home in Kimberley. As we walked, I saw my daughter’s anxieties melt away, replaced instead by awe and curiosity at the seasonal changes occurring around her.
Like me, my daughter loves the wild. From the creek behind our house to the mountains we frequent on the weekends, these places are her playground, her classroom and where she seems most herself. And she wants to see them protected just as much as I do. From connection comes care, and from care comes a desire to protect — that’s what Wildsight environmental education is all about.
Friend, I’m writing to you today because we need your help. As the climate crisis worsens, environmental education is becoming more important than ever before. Education is the most powerful tool we have to fight climate change — it’s how we sow the seeds of advocacy.
This year, we’ve had to cut the number of education programs and classes we offer, meaning we’ll only be able to support about half as many kids. Will you give today to help us educate and empower the next generation of environmental stewards?
Kids across the Kootenays are seeing the impacts of climate change firsthand. Water levels in our dams are going down, glaciers are receding, wildfire smoke fills our lungs in summer and species like mountain caribou are disappearing. It’s frightening to witness, but these impacts are nothing compared to what our children will experience in their lifetimes.
Wildsight’s education programs show young people in our region that they have the power to make a difference on climate change. In Beyond Recycling, students learn how to make their lives more sustainable. Participants in the Columbia River Field School learn about the Columbia River Treaty renegotiation and engage in mock debates. Even our littlest learners investigate the impacts of climate change on wildlife through Winter Wonder.
Your gift will allow kids to get outside and connect with the wild, it’ll teach them how to create more sustainable lives for themselves and their communities, and it will give them the knowledge to speak up for the wild places they love.
Two generous donors, Copernicus Educational Products and Valhalla Mountain Touring, have stepped forward to match all gifts received before November 10th up to $17,000.
Will you invest in our children today so they can create a better tomorrow for us all, friend?
For the wild,
Jill Jennings
Wildsight Education Coordinator
P.s. P.s. Our dedicated monthly donors are enabling a whole generation of young people to become advocates for the wild. Will you give $5 monthly to help ensure kids can learn about the wild for years to come?