Home Blog Page 6

Thank you!

Our sincere thanks to each one of you who supported our first fundraising campaign to help develop Nature Labs, Ghost Bear Institute’s signature project. We have been continuously blown away by your shares, donations, purchases at our shop and participation in our raffle draw. And we are especially grateful to each of our incredible champions who joined us in the field.

Collectively, you helped us meet our goal of raising $10,000 (!!!) and, with this support, we will now be able to take our first major step toward bringing our vision for Nature Labs to life. Over the next several months, we will be working to advance the first wave of content for the virtual learning platform, advancing our ability to create a beta version of the web site for testing in select Canadian high schools during the next school year.

We will, of course, keep you posted on our progress and showcase the work you’ve helped enable. And if you’re keen to continue supporting our efforts to advance nature literacy, know that all donations – including purchasing items from our shop or joining us in the field – will go directly toward the development of Nature Labs, from web site development to increasing our ability to test the project in more schools.

Again, know we’re truly grateful to each of you for believing in Nature Labs. We can’t wait to take the next step together.

Four ways you can support nature literacy!

1. Buy a raffle ticket and win great prizes!

Tickets are $25 for one and five for $100 – with only 400 tickets being sold! The grand prize? A full daypersonalized field trip in the Canadian Rockies. There are also four framed prints to be won and 10 canvas wrap prints. Winners will be announced on June 15th and contacted via email.

2. Join us in the field!*

With all $500 donations made during this campaign only, we will be offering you a full day, personalized and private Field Trip into the Canadian Rockies between June 15th and July 15th, 2018.

3. Shop with meaning!

By purchasing any item from our store, know that 100% of the proceeds will support this campaign for Nature Labs. And until June 15th, all 16” x 24” limited edition prints are on sale for only $250 dollars.

4. Share this post!

Nature Labs is a grassroots effort and so too is this fundraising campaign. Help us beat the algorithms by spreading the word across social media, by email and in conversations with friends and family. Every dollar counts.

In supporting Nature Labs, let’s create lasting systems change: a society where millions champion nature literacy in the classroom and millions more act with a foundation of nature knowledge that, in turn, fosters a better balance between the needs people and the environment.

Our Board: Libby Garg

Ghost Bear Institute is more than its two co-founders; it’s the by-product of a group of champions who have supported us throughout our journey. And this week, we’d like to introduce you to our board – four of the most remarkable and talented humans you’ll ever meet. Like us, each have been inspired by nature’s stories and we asked that they share with you their favourite animal and why.

Meet Libby Garg!

Libby Garg is from BC’s Okanagan Band, and grew up in BC’s rural Shuswap and Okanagan Valleys. She credits her work ethic, as well as deep love and admiration for animals and nature, to growing up on a working dairy farm. 

Libby Garg holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Economics, as well as a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia. In 2010, while still in law school, Libby was the co-founder and the managing partner of the private investment partnership DGH Capital. Most notably, Libby led the strategy that invested in Facebook prior to its IPO, as well as Privateer Holdings.

Libby left the practice of law in 2016 to return to entrepreneurial pursuits in opening her first quick service restaurant, Freshii. Her location is one of the top performing stores measured by sales.

Building on her expertise in the quick service restaurant industry, Libby founded WorkSolute, a payroll company that services industries with high employee turnover, and hourly waged based employees. WorkSolute won the Ignite Business Competition in 2016, which provided initial start up capital. Relying primarily on organic growth, the company is now forecasted to pay approximately 1200 employees per pay period this year alone.

In addition to being Vice-Chair of Ghost Bear Institute, Libby sits on multiple boards in both her business and personal communities – and believes that the world would be a better place if more people were like animals. In her free time, she enjoys exploring Toronto with her husband and their dog Jack, a rescued pug-russell.

And Libby’s favourite animal?

“I admire the beaver for their ability to rebuild their home quickly when it is torn down.  It shows a level of perseverance and ability to adapt quickly to adverse circumstances. Two others are meerkats or weaver ants – I admire both for their ability to function in a highly social environment and achieve goals for the betterment of the group by working together.”

Beaver carrying a willow branch

Our Board: Mehernosh Pestonji

Ghost Bear Institute is more than its two co-founders; it’s the by-product of a group of champions who have supported us throughout our journey. And this week, we’d like to introduce you to our board – four of the most remarkable and talented humans you’ll ever meet. Like us, each have been inspired by nature’s stories and we asked that they share with you their favourite animal and why.

Meet Mehernosh Pestonji!

Mehernosh Pestonji was born in India and came to Canada in 1972 as a landed immigrant. Those first formative years growing up in a developing county, as well as his subsequent visits to India, Cambodia, Tanzania and other far-flung corners of the world, sparked his life-long passion for social justice, environmental issues and community development.

This passion has infused Nosh’s teaching and related professional pursuits during a diverse, three decade-long career in public and independent schools, including teaching exchanges in England and Thailand. He has taught in elementary and secondary schools, and is a co-founder of T.E.A.M. Project Milliken, an award-winning project-based alternate education program for at-risk youth. In 2002, Nosh moved to the independent school system, as a Geography teacher, later taking on the role of Director of Outreach and developed a dynamic and diverse Outreach Program.

Whether introducing elementary students to the wonders of Mayan civilizations, leading urban teenagers in back-country canoeing expeditions, exploring contemporary world issues with Grade 12 students, or leading Learning Service Expeditions around the world, Nosh has worked to help students expand their environment and the world view. He is a strong believer that helping rising leaders gain new and different perspectives is at the heart of personal transformation and fundamental to creating a more thoughtful society. It’s also proven to be one of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of his life’s journey.

And Nosh’s favourite animal?

“I like Elephants because they are calm, gentle, confident and, to me, seem humble. They are powerful and yet gentle. When they set their mind to doing something, they commit fully until the task is done. I also really like their almond shaped eyes. To me, they have always had a wise human quality to them.”

Our Board: Amanda Gierling

Ghost Bear Institute is more than its two co-founders; it’s the by-product of a group of champions who have supported us throughout our journey. And this week, we’d like to introduce you to our board – four of the most remarkable and talented humans you’ll ever meet. Like us, each have been inspired by nature’s stories and we asked that they share with you their favourite animal and why.

Meet Amanda Gierling!

Amanda Gierling is a Chartered Professional Accountant, who has spent nearly a decade working at Travelers Canada, a leading property and casualty insurer. Before joining Travelers, Amanda spent four years at Ernst & Young LLP while studying for her accounting designation, where she gained extensive experience serving clients in the not-for-profit sector. Amanda brings invaluable financial expertise to the role of Treasurer on the Ghost Bear Institute’s board, helping support the growth of Nature Labs.

As a mother, Amanda understands the need for a modern curriculum that takes advantage of current technologies and fosters a respect for nature in a way that is fun and relatable for the next generation of students.

Amanda earned her undergraduate degree in management and organizational studies from Western University in London, Ontario.

She currently lives in Toronto with her family.

And Amanda’s favourite animal?

“The fox, which is why I love your Foxy Friday posts! When I was younger and living in London, I was at the back of our property (my parents own several acres of land) and I encountered a fox kit. We were about 30 feet apart and we just sort of stared at each other for a while. It was so cute and I didn’t know what to do but observe and learn. When we each walked away, I felt I gained a deeper appreciation for my natural neighbor.”

Red fox kit in tall grass.

Our Board: Kerrie Blaise

Ghost Bear Institute is more than its two co-founders; it’s the by-product of a group of champions who have supported us throughout our journey. And this week, we’d like to introduce you to our board – four of the most remarkable and talented humans you’ll ever meet. Like us, each have been inspired by nature’s stories and we asked that they share with you their favourite animal and why.

Meet Kerrie Blaise!

Kerrie Blaise is lawyer and advocate based in Ontario, Canada, passionately dedicated to environmental and public interest law.  After years of volunteering with many environmental non-profits, including the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition; obtaining a Masters of Science from the University Edinburgh, where she studied the marine impacts of offshore oil development; and graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2016, Kerrie is honoured to join the Ghost Bear Institute as its Chair.

Kerrie continues to work in the non-profit sector, representing clients and community groups seeking to uphold the government’s commitments on environmental protection. She frequently appears before tribunals, at conferences and in consultations with government officials on issues spanning nuclear reactor safety and environmental protection, international trade agreements, natural resource use and endangered species.

And Kerrie’s favourite animal?

“Wolves! I love, love, love wolves. The existence of a wolf signifies so much – namely a healthy ecosystem. As recently as a month ago I was in consultation with the province about expanding the buffer zone around provincial parks to ensure the species is given more space to thrive. I could say a lot about wolves! Oh, and all mustelids, especially martens and river otters! Pine martens because they’re semi-rare, feisty and hilarious; river otters because I find them fascinating and have had many personal encounters that have inspired my love for nature.”

Meet Simon Jackson

Most of you know us as Ghost Bear – an organization or a vision or a collection of stories. Allow me to pull back the curtain and introduce you to my co-founder, Simon Jackson.

Simon is a storyteller, connector and movement builder who has dedicated his life to finding a better balance between the needs of people and nature.

At the age of 13, Simon founded the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition in the quest to unite the voice of young people to save Canada’s endangered white Kermode – also known as the spirit or ghost bear. Through the Youth Coalition, Simon led the campaign that helped raise international awareness about the plight of the rare bear, transforming the organization into the world’s largest youth-led environmental movement with a global network of more than 6 million in over 85 countries.

After almost two decades of work, the spirit bear is now saved, with its last intact habitat having been set aside from development through one of the largest land protection measures in North American history – the byproduct of diverse stakeholders working together for a common purpose.

Simon has received several honours for his work to save the spirit bear, including being awarded Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, being named as one of the 100 Angels of the Earth by UNESCO and, most notably, being honoured as one of Time Magazine’s sixty Heroes for the Planet – one of only six young people selected from around the world. His life’s work was the focus of an internationally televised movie, Spirit Bear: The Simon Jackson Story.

Simon is an accomplished motivational speaker with agency Speakers’ Spotlight and an award-winning photographer and a widely published writer. Having contributed images and chapters to eight books, he has also had hundreds of essays and opinion editorials published in newspapers, magazines, academic journals, web sites and textbooks around the world – many underpinned by his photography. Simon has served as a columnist for CBC.ca and the Huffington Post and recently co-authored the book A Geography of Hope: Saving Primary Forests. His writing led him to being named a Fellow of the International League of Conservation Writers.

And in case you didn’t know, Simon is the person who has been writing most of the stories you read, leading the conversation with diverse citizens on how we can create a world that champions nature literacy and has navigated and DJ’ed every single kilometre (literally) of our journey. Indeed, Simon’s story and his storytelling ability, combined with his understanding of how successful movements are built, is the backbone of Ghost Bear’s work.

Spirit bear in the rapids looking for salmon

Meet Jill Cooper

Most of you know us as Ghost Bear – an organization or a vision or a collection of stories. Allow me to pull back the curtain and introduce you to my co-founder, Jill Cooper.

Growing up in rural Ontario, Jill discovered her passion for the outdoors at an early age and realized in her teens that her professional calling was in education.

For a decade, Jill worked to create connections between technology and nature as a high school geography and media arts teacher, promoting experiential education and leading numerous excursions, including a science-focused field trip to Nicaragua.

When she found resource gaps, Jill worked to fill them – first off the side of her desk and eventually in the full-time pursuit of system-wide education resource development. Jill has advised the establishment of a school council for the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada and helped design of the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition’s award-winning education program. And for the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity she worked to build a new multi-faceted training program that seeks to better equip teachers to execute STEAM techniques.

No matter the project, Jill’s hallmark has been an approach that strives to be fair in her research and communication: Presenting unbiased facts to ignite a passion in others to think critically, work collaboratively and demand better of themselves and our world.

For each endeavour Jill has journeyed, she has proven an understanding of how to develop innovative programming from development to curriculum integration to classroom implementation.

This, new friends and old, is the person who has been leading the conversation on social media, developing an understanding of how we can do education better and driving every single kilometre (literally) of our journey to document nature and share these stories in communities far and wide. And it’s her unique insight that is at the heart of all that we do.

Great grey owl peeking from behind a tree truck

Launching a non-profit

We think it’s critical for all non-profits to have a clear goal and roadmap that allows them to succeed and put themselves out of business. At Ghost Bear, our hope is to advance a vision and a project that fosters a society that embraces nature literacy to the point where no one organization is needed to sustain momentum; where society instinctively demands its citizens and its systems to consider nature in every act.

In fact, the only reason we launched a new non-profit was because we failed to find an existing institution that lacked bias and had a willingness to help support the development of a new idea: Nature Labs. If we can prove the idea successful, we hope it becomes a platform owned by everyone and anyone with a vested interest in better education, not just Ghost Bear.

As you know, to help us accomplish this goal, our work will be focused on storytelling that provokes thoughtful dialogue and educational efforts that nurture a deeper sense of connection to, and shared ownership of, the issues facing biodiversity.

We will strive to share better stories of our natural inheritance, engage all citizens in direct conversation about how we can work together collaboratively and create immersive experiences that allow for individuals to rethink their role in our landscape.

Most critically, we will tie together each of these threads by working diligently to equip teachers with the tools to deconstruct the complex and enliven the obscure; to help students understand that we’re a nation of ecosystems and that each one offers an accessible waypoint to tangibly assess the impact of our behaviour.

Education is the most cost-effective strategy to attain society’s stated goals and biodiversity has the power to move the discourse beyond polarity, allowing for new entry points into some of our most challenging issues – from combatting climate change to engaging in reconciliation.

And when will we know that we’ve succeeded in putting ourselves out of business?

When thousands of teachers gain access to critical resources that enable them to deliver better education.

When hundreds of thousands of students are learning to understand and appreciate nature – and put that knowledge into practice by designing newer, better ideas for moving forward.

When millions of Canadians support nature literacy in the classroom and when millions of Canadians act with a foundation of nature literacy, making our environmental discourse constructive and productive.

This is our dream. We hope it’s yours too. Together, let’s make it a reality.

Nature Labs: A global vision

Many of you that read our stories and support our drive to advance nature literacy live outside of Canada. And over the last few months, as we’ve introduced Nature Labs – our signature project that seeks to help Canadian high school students better understand and appreciate their natural inheritance – you’ve been telling us why we need to think globally, not nationally. We’ve listened.

Rather than create a program exclusively for the country in which we live, we’re working to ensure that our open-source platform is relevant and accessible to students around the world. Though our focus will remain on building content that connects to Canadian high school curriculum (given our expertise, network of champions and desire to start small and build outward), we now realize that the lessons and learning journeys we’re creating can be useful to students and teachers anywhere.

As is the case in every Canadian province, most jurisdictions have adopted the UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development objectives that mandate biodiversity intersections with every course. Why? It’s been proven that connecting students with nature helps promote creativity, confidence and empathy. At the same time, nature shapes innovative minds and allows students to think critically about their world. And biodiversity is the link between cultures and beliefs, promoting healthy and active lifestyles, and helping students think more wholly by incorporating both logical and emotional functions of the brain.

Our hope is that through Nature Labs, we can provide the critical resources that help ALL teachers with the tools to meet these objectives and help their students better understand the connection between class learning and the real world. And through Nature Labs Premium, we will now work to create curriculum connections between our content and locally mandated teaching standards not just in Canadian classrooms, but also for schools globally.

So thanks to you, let’s work together to build a world where millions support nature literacy in the classroom and act with a foundation of nature literacy. Find out how.

great grey owl in flight