UFV’s Wildlife Protection Club partnered with Nature Canada and hosted an event on Nov. 30 at UFV’s Abbotsford campus from 5-7 p.m. in Room B101. At the event, they showed a local conservation documentary entitled Toad People. Afterwards, the audience was given the opportunity to write letters to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, where they could share their concerns about the lack of conservation. Molly Tilden, president of UFV’s Wildlife Protection club shared details about the event, partnering with Nature Canada, and why it is important to preserve nature.
According to a press release from the UFV Wildlife Protection club, the NatureBus tour took place to help inspire action to save nature and wildlife around the world. Nature Canada had three buses travel throughout Canada to collect letters from people about why it is important to save nature.
One of the tour buses went through different B.C. cities such as Vancouver, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and Richmond. NatureBus then brought the letters to the prime minister in Montreal at the fifteenth NatureCOP conference, in the hopes of inspiring change and conserving nature on a global scale.
Held every couple of years, the NatureCOP conference is where representatives from 195 countries gather to collectively discuss how to protect nature and sustain it internationally.
Tilden explained that it was Nature Canada who first initiated the partnership, offering funding to host the event. The club took the opportunity to work with Nature Canada and to share their thoughts about the importance of protecting nature to influential leaders around the world.
Before the event took place, Tilden explained how the club contemplated rescheduling due to the snow in late November. However the NatureBus was only going to be in Abbotsford on Nov. 30, and the event went as scheduled. While the weather did keep some people from attending the event, they still had a good turnout of around thirty five attendees, most of whom were from the community.
“We were showing a documentary called Toad People which was filmed largely in the Fraser Valley in Chilliwack up at Ryder Lake, telling the story of local families who are doing what they can to protect species at risk, particularly the western toad” said Tilden.
Tilden mentioned that the documentary connected well with the theme of the NatureBus event as it focused on protecting biodiversity at a local level. The event also included free food and areas set up for people to write their letters to the prime minister.
“We had Nature Canada there with letter writing stations [where] people could fill out postcards and express what nature means to them [and]why they think nature deserves strong protection in Canada. All those letters were taken at the end of the event by Nature Canada, put on the NatureBus, and are heading to Montreal,” Tilden explained.
When asked how else students can help to preserve the natural world, Tilden said that there are always opportunities to volunteer with the UFV Wildlife Protection club, such as working with other local conservation organizations. In the past, students have helped with tree planting with the Fraser Valley Conservancy and did snail surveys in the Oregon Forest. Another way Tilden said students can help conserve nature is to immerse themselves in it.
“When you start to care about the natural areas where you live, it will naturally inspire you to get more involved in these sorts of conservation efforts,” said Tilden.
Rachel is working towards a BA with a concentration in English and Theatre. She has been employed at The Cascade since Fall 2021 as a Staff Writer and a Jr. News Editor. Currently, she is the sectional News Editor and enjoys meeting and interviewing people as well as taking long walks in nature. Rachel also likes to stay up to date on the latest trends and informs students through her fashion column entitled Campus Fashion.
