Have you noticed anyone doing rooftop camping, rappelling from downtown buildings or commuting to work via canoe? It’s all part of an inner-city campaign to announce The Big Wild.

Protecting our heritage
This new social movement founded by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) wants to advance large-scale wilderness protection in Canada.

“The Big Wild movement is a new way for everyone who cares about our country’s wilderness to voice their support for protecting it. We are encouraging every citizen to participate in this new vehicle that promotes leadership in wilderness conservation. Through The Big Wild we want Canadians to create a collective voice that is so strong, that we can convince our country’s leaders — at all levels — to make a difference that will ultimately have global impact,” said David Labistour, CEO of Mountain Equipment Co-op.

Not enough protection
Coastal temperate rainforests, Boreal forests, wild arctic — Canada is home to one-fifth of the world’s remaining wilderness, but we protect less than 10 per cent of our lands and less than one per cent of our waters from industrial activity. The Big Wild vision is that Canada will protect at least half of its wilderness.

“Every Canadian is a landlord to our wilderness and it’s on our watch that Canada will decide whether we set a new global standard for our planet’s health,” said Anne Levesque, CPAWS’ National Executive Director.

Let your call be heard
You can participate by giving as little as two minutes or as much as two months:

Unity brings change
Well-known Canadian musicians Sam Roberts and K-OS are participating along with author Bruce Kirkby, Team Canada Whitewater Slalom Kayake Sara Potvin-Bernal, artist Becky Mason, dance artist Margie Gillis, author Wade Davis and actor Luc Picard.

“Small voices can create big change,” says Labistour. “We hope The Big Wild will help propel a mainstream consciousness shift in Canada, to a culture of protecting our wilderness.”

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is Canada’s only NGO devoted solely to large-landscape wilderness protection. Established in 1963, CPAWS has been instrumental in protecting over 400,000 km2 of Canada’s most treasured wild places, including Pacific Rim, Killarney, Nahanni, Kluane, Pukaskwa and Gwaii Haanas.

Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), Canada’s largest retail cooperative providing quality products and services for activities such as hiking, climbing, and skiing. Established in 1971, MEC has more than 2.7 million members throughout Canada and the world.

From: Green Living Online