biodiversity

August 5 2020

Conservation group applauds new youth conservation jobs

cpawsadmin News, Uncategorized bc parks, biodiversity, build bc back better, canadian parks and wilderness society, covid nature, covid-19 bc, cpaws, cpaws-bc, disease wildlife human, economic recovery bc, health wildlife, indigenous conservation, ipca, mental health nature, nature health, parks report, provincial parks, tori ball

For interviews, contact:
Tori Ball, Terrestrial Campaigner
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, BC Chapter
tori@cpawsbc.org
(604) 685-7445 x24

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 5, 2020

Traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples/Vancouver, BC — The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, British Columbia (CPAWS-BC) is applauding a new initiative to hire young people into conservation jobs in BC. These new jobs, announced today by Environment Minister George Heyman, will help to safeguard nature across the province.

“We’re happy to see more conservation jobs being created for young people at a time when our park system needs more support,” says Tori Ball, Terrestrial Campaigner with CPAWS-BC.

“In the short term, these new jobs will help manage the impacts of increasing visitation on the outdoor places we love so much, by addressing long standing capacity issues within BC Parks,” she adds.

BC’s provincial parks were forced to shut down this spring due to concerns with understaffing and overcrowding, following a recent budget cut to operations earlier this year. Decades of underfunding to BC Parks has created a concerning shortage of staff as well as a significant backlog of maintenance issues and major delays in management planning for parks.

“These new temporary positions will help provide much-needed capacity to support overworked park rangers, which will better safeguard nature and improve people’s experiences in the outdoors,” says Ball.

“We hope to see continued investment in nature-based jobs and a commitment to a longer-term capacity increase for BC Parks, as part of the overall strategy to recover the province’s economy,” she adds.

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For interviews, contact:

Tori Ball, Terrestrial Campaigner
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, BC Chapter
tori@cpawsbc.org
(604) 685-7445 x24

Resources

BC Government Media Release: Program offers young people work experience with BC Parks, COS (August 5, 2020)

About CPAWS-BC:

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – British Columbia Chapter (CPAWS-BC) protects wilderness in every corner of BC and deep into the ocean. CPAWS-BC supports the creation of large, well-managed, connected protected areas where native plants and animals thrive, now and forever; and where people and communities can live off the land and ocean without impacting the ability of future generations to do the same.

In the past 50+ years, CPAWS has played a lead role in protecting over half a million square kilometres – an area bigger than New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador put together.

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July 15 2020

New report highlights opportunity to put nature protection at the heart of economic recovery in Canada

cpawsadmin News bc parks, biodiversity, build bc back better, canadian parks and wilderness society, covid nature, covid-19 bc, cpaws, cpaws-bc, disease wildlife human, economic recovery bc, health wildlife, indigenous conservation, ipca, mental health nature, nature health, parks report, provincial parks, tori ball

For interviews, contact:
Tori Ball, Terrestrial Campaigner
tori@cpawsbc.org
(604) 685-7445 x24

New report highlights opportunity to put nature protection at the heart of economic recovery in Canada

For Immediate Release

July 15, 2020

Unceded Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, BC — A new report from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) recommends that nature protection is put at the heart of Canada’s COVID-19 recovery strategies. The report highlights the enormous potential of BC’s provincial parks to provide accessible and affordable outdoor activities, and outlines urgent challenges posed by decades of underfunding.

“It’s become very clear that BC’s parks are essential to our health and well-being. Safe, accessible outdoor recreation in parks is a proven way to boost mental health and reduce stress,” says Tori Ball, Terrestrial Campaigner with CPAWS-BC.

“Unfortunately, decades of funding for BC’s parks has left communities with inequitable access to nature, and continues to put wildlife at risk,” she says.

The BC Parks budget was cut by 4% this year, exacerbating issues such as understaffing across the province. This has restricted or cut core functions such as monitoring and enforcement, research, and education.

The provincial and federal governments are making decisions on spending to restart the economy and recover from the economic downturn caused by COVID-19. CPAWS-BC is advocating for an investment of economic recovery funding into BC’s parks to better support the needs of communities across the province.

“This is our chance to get it right. We know that nature conservation is a driver of economic growth and provides essential community benefits that help build a resilient global economy,” says Ball.

”Now more than ever, we need to invest in these places so that our communities will be more resilient and better supported in the long run,” adds Ball.

CPAWS-BC’s recommendations to the Government of British Columbia:

Invest immediately in BC Parks, increasing staff capacity for visitor management, ecological monitoring, and management planning to better recognize the critical role that parks play in supporting our health, our communities, and our environment.
Support Indigenous-led conservation initiatives that enable reconciliation with Indigenous nations, protection and recovery of species at risk, and build sustainable long-term jobs in rural and remote communities

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For interviews, contact:
Tori Ball, Terrestrial Campaigner
tori@cpawsbc.org
(604) 685-7445 x24

Download Media Release PDF

Additional Resource:

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. (July 15 2020). Healthy Nature Healthy People. https://cpawsbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CPAWS-Parks-Report-2020-ENG.pdf

Photo by: Kirill Belotserkovsky via Pexels.com

TELL YOUR MLA: INVEST IN BC PARKS TO HELP BUILD BACK A BETTER BC

October 10 2019

VIFF: The Great Green Wall Celebrates Nature-based Solutions for Thriving Communities

cpawsadmin Blog biodiversity, viff

The 2019 Greater Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) season sparks action and changes the way we see the world. CPAWS-BC is thrilled to be supporting VIFF this year as a community partner of Oscar-nominated director Fernando Meirelles’ “The Great Green Wall”.

“The Great Green Wall” highlights one of the world’s most ambitious initiatives to tackle climate change. 11 African nations began The Great Green Wall project in 2007 to plant 8,000 kilometers of trees and vegetation across the Sahel, a semi-arid area that stretches the entire width of Africa, south of the Sahara desert.

The film is guided by Malian musician and activist Inna Modja. Inna travels to Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Niger and Ethiopia meeting people most affected by climate change and land degradation. Human activity and mismanagement of land and ocean resources is at the root of climate change and loss of biodiversity, in the Sahel region and all around the globe. The Green Wall offers a nature-based solution to natural resource scarcity, desertification and drought, conflict, migration and community revitalization issues. The project is designed to restore land depleted by agricultural overuse and grazing. Once complete, it will restore food and livelihood for communities. The wall could absorb some 250 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Human activity and mismanagement of land and ocean resources is at the root of climate change and loss of biodiversity. The project is designed to restore land depleted by agricultural overuse and grazing. Once complete, it will restore food and livelihood for communities. The wall could absorb some 250 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

I am at a loss for words. It’s the social, the economic, political…it is everything .
– VIFF film screening attendee

The wall itself is not linear or uniform. It is more like a patchwork of forest clusters sheltering life. It is an interconnected network of life that young people can depend on for generations to come. And the stories shared by those living along the Great Green Wall are about more than revitalizing desert landscape. They are about desperation, courage, and the hope for a brighter future.

Stories like this play out across the globe as the fight against climate change continues. Here at home, BC will experience a squeeze as our landscape and ocean morph with the climate. Flooding, storm surges, and rampant fires will displace people and wildlife from their homes. BC is along an escape route and will become a safe haven for new troves of species and communities seeking refuge from the impacts of climate change. — which will have unforeseeable impacts of its own.

The clusters of trees and plants along the Sahel breathe life back into the local communities. Things are, arguable, not quite so dire in BC, but we need to protect remaining large intact areas of wilderness for nature — including humans — to have a fighting chance.

Climate change is not coming, it is here. During an evening screening of “The Great Green Wall,” the whole audience held their breath watching a time-lapse of Lake Chad shrink by an estimated 90 per cent in a mere 50 years. It was a stark reminder of how much has already been lost. Science shows that we have only 12 years to curb our carbon emissions and keep irreparable global temperature rise at bay. We need bold, immediate action to protect habitats and ecological hotspots.

Nature needs us now. We are on the front lines of a nature emergency. The Amazon rainforest is burning. Declines in salmon populations risk cut food supply to endangered southern resident killer whales and grizzly bear populations. Indigenous leaders and scientists call for support to protect BC forests and critical caribou habitat.

Without biodiversity, life simply could not exist. BC has the greatest biodiversity in Canada, yet we have the most species at risk and our ecosystems are collapsing.
– VIFF film screening attendee

There is still hope for nature in BC. The Serengeti of the north in Kaska Dena territory and promise for protection of grasslands – one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems right here in BC’s South Okanagan-Similkameen offer large-scale nature protection. Interconnected networks of marine protected areas through the Great Bear Sea and rich depths of the Deepsea Oasis offshore of Vancouver Island reveal newly discovered and integral species along the pacific coast.

CPAWS-BC is dedicated to the protection of our public land and water, and ensuring our parks are managed to protect the nature within them. With help from people like you, we advocate for the creation of a patchwork of life support systems across the province. The next step will be to connect the dots with wildlife corridors and connected pathways of protected areas.

BC is a special place for animals and people.

We need your help to ensure protection for these places. We depend on nature for food, shelter, healing, and recreation. Our vision is to establish large, intact areas of wilderness on land and in the ocean that supports all life to not only survive, but thrive.

Animals caught on trail camera along BC provincial park boundaries

“BC needs a healthy environment for everyone – wildlife, nature, humans and biodiversity is vital for a stable and sustainable environment
-VIFF fan

The 2019 federal election will play a pivotal role in Canada’s response to the climate emergency and decline in nature here.

We each have a role to play in ensuring protection of biodiversity and the vitality of future communities. Environmental issues do not stand alone. Ecosystems must be resilient and adaptable to nurture nature amidst a rapidly evolving world.

Your vote for nature on October 21st helps leverage nature-based solutions and partnership between provincial, federal and Indigenous governments in response to climate change.

VIFF film screening and events September 26-October 11, 2019. Tickets and more information at WWW.VIFF.ORG

October 8 2019

CONTEST

cpawsadmin Blog biodiversity, contest, viff

How to enter

If you do not already, follow @cpawsbc on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (as seen on platform)
Comment on social media post your response to “WHY DOES BC NEED BIODIVERSITY?”
Tag a friend who you want to go to a VIFF (Vancouver International Film Festival) film screening Sept 26-Oct 11 2019

You may submit up to one entry per day. Contest October 8th 11:59PM.

It is the sole responsibility of the entrant to ensure their entry is properly submitted as

described above. CPAWS BC will not be responsible for any lost, delayed, misdirected,

illegible, incomplete, damaged or undeliverable entries, or any delay or failure to transmit,

process, receive or consider entries.

Chances of winning are dependent on the number of entries received. Quebec residents are

not eligible to win.

The Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with

Facebook, Twitter , Instagram or VIFF. You understand that you are providing your information to

CPAWS BC and not to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or VIFF. The information you provide will only

be used for the administration of this Contest and in accordance with CPAWS BC’s privacy

policy. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are completely released of all liability by each

participant (and his/her parent/legal guardian if he/she is a Minor) in this Contest. Any

questions, comments or complaints regarding the Contest must be directed to CPAWS BC and

not Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or VIFF.

Questions regarding the contest or campaign can be emailed to info@cpawsbc.org with

“Contest” in the subject line.

General

These Rules and Regulations are final on all matters relating to CPAWS-BC’s VIFF Contest (the “Competition”). The contest is governed by the rules set out below. By entering the contest, you agree to abide by those rules and the decisions of CPAWS BC staff.

You also agree to comply with all applicable laws. The contest is void where prohibited or

restricted by law.

Eligibility – Entrants

You are not required to make any purchase or pay any fee to enter or win the contest.

Entrants may not win more than one prize within a single category.

You may only enter the contest if you are an individual and, at the time of entry, you are a

legal resident of Canada. If you do not meet the Canadian residency requirement, you may

still enter but will not be eligible for any prizes. Quebec residents are not eligible to win.

Each eligible entrant aged seventeen (17) years or under must have his/her custodial parents\’

or legal guardian\’s consent to enter to enter the CPAWS-BC’s VIFF Contest. If a custodial parent or legal guardian does not provide the required consent, then the entry will be disqualified.

Proof of identification and parental consent must be provided upon request. If a custodial

parent or legal guardian does not provide consent, or if proof of identification cannot be

obtained to the satisfaction of the Sponsor, the entry will be disqualified.

CPAWS employees and their immediate families (i.e., their spouses, siblings, children,

spouses\’ parents, and the spouses of any of those individuals) and their household members

(related or not) are not eligible to enter the contest.

CPAWS BC may at any time in its sole discretion disqualify any entrant who: does not meet

the contest\’s eligibility criteria, fails to comply with these rules, attempts to enter the contest

in any manner or through any means other than as described in these rules, attempts to

disrupt the contest or attempts to circumvent any of these rules.

Entries must be original material and must not have been a winner in another national

competition or Competition. Entries also must not have been published or accepted for

publication by a national magazine or newspaper. Entries posted online on personal

websites, blogs or on social media are not considered published for the purpose of this

competition, and may be entered for competition consideration. Content alteration of digital

files is not acceptable; cropping of photos is permitted, tonal or colour corrections are

acceptable, including black and white conversion.

Prize

Pair (x2) VIFF Film Screening Vouchers provided by CPAWSBC as sponsors of VIFF film.

Winners

In order to be declared a contest winner and be eligible for a prize, the prize winner must

have complied with, and remain in compliance with, these rules, and must sign and deliver to

CPAWS BC (within 1 calendar day of CPAWS BC’s request) a standard declaration and release form (which will include a declaration of the finalists\’ compliance with these rules, an

acceptance of the prize as awarded, a publicity release, a liability release, and the correct

answer to a skill-testing question) and any other documentation that CPAWS BC may require.

Prizes will be picked up at the CPAWS BC office in Vancouver, BC.

One winning entrants will be selected through a random draw for each prize. The winner will

be notified through the platform they used to submit their entry (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter). If the selected winning entrant does not respond within seven (1) calendar day of the first notification attempt, if a prize is returned as undeliverable or is rejected, or if a participant is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may be selected.

In case of dispute as to the identity of any entrant, entry will be declared made by the

authorized account holder of the email address submitted at time of entry. CPAWS BC may

request valid proof of identity, residency, age and other relevant documentation, and CPAWS

BC may disqualify a selected winner if they determine (in their sole discretion) that the

provided proof is not sufficient.

All prizes must be accepted as awarded (with no substitutions), and may not be sold,

transferred, or converted into cash. All prizes will be delivered by way of pick-up upon

the winner accepting the prize as awarded. CPAWS BC are not responsible for lost or

undeliverable mail.

License to CPAWS BC

By submitting your contest entry, you are granting CPAWS-BC the unrestricted,

royalty-free, perpetual right to use your entry for future educational, promotional and

charitable purposes without any fee or other form of compensation, and without further

notification or permission.

You will retain all rights to any photograph you submit — including ownership if applicable.

Publicity

Except where otherwise prohibited by law, participation in the contest constitutes a winner\’s

consent to CPAWS BC’s use of the winner\’s photo and name for educational, promotional and

charitable purposes without further notification, permission, payment or consideration.

Cancellation

If for any reason CPAWS BC cannot run the contest as planned (including as a result of bugs,

tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, infection by computer virus

or any other cause that corrupts, impairs or affects the administration, security, fairness,

integrity, or proper conduct of this contest) CPAWS BC may cancel, modify, extend or suspend

the contest. In that event, CPAWS BC may award prizes at random from among the eligible

entries received up to the time of the impairment, or award no prizes.

CPAWS BC may also disqualify any individual who tampers with or in any way corrupts the

entry process, or who attempts to undermine the legitimate operation of the contest by

cheating, hacking, deception, or other unfair practices, or by attempting to annoy, abuse,

threaten or harass any other entrants or CPAWS BC representatives.

Disclaimers, Liability, and Indemnification

CPAWS BC do not accept liability for any loss or damage resulting directly or indirectly from

your participation in the contest.

CPAWS-BC are not responsible for: (1) late, incomplete, or misdirected entries, or entries

received through impermissible or illegitimate channels; (2) technical failures of any kind,

including without limitation the malfunctioning of any telephone, computer, network,

hardware or software; (3) the unavailability or inaccessibility of any service; (4) unauthorized

human intervention in any part of the entry process or the contest; (5) electronic or human

error which may occur in the administration of the contest or the processing of entries; or (6)

any injury or damage to persons or property, including without limitation your computer,

which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from your participation in the

contest or from downloading any material from CPAWS BC\’s website.

CPAWS-BC will not be liable to you for any indirect, special, consequential, or punitive

damages in connection with the contest or these rules.

By participating in this contest, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless CPAWS-BC and

their employees, directors, officers, members, affiliates, agents, judges and advertising and

promotional agencies from any and all damages, injuries, claims, causes of actions or losses

of any kind (including actual legal fees and expenses) arising from or related to: (a) your

failure to comply with any of these rules; (b) any misrepresentation you make under these

rules or otherwise to CPAWS-BC; or (c) your participation in the contest.

Personal Information

You consent to CPAWS BC using and disclosing your personal information for the purposes of

administering the contest; advertising the contest and any future contests and any of CPAWS

BC\’s products and services; and for the other purposes described in these rules.

Law

The Rules will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of

British Columbia, Canada and the federal laws of Canada applicable in British Columbia.

Disputes

All disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with the contest, prizes

or these rules will be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and

exclusively by the appropriate court of the Province of British Columbia, Canada.

Further Information

CPAWS BC

410-698 Seymour Street

Vancouver, BC V6B 3K6

(604) 685-7445

info@cpawsbc.org