Big Wild

Learn about the Big Wild at the Calgary MEC store
May 17, 2008 from 10 am to 4 pm
Click here for all the details.

The Big Wild^TM is a social marketing initiative being launched by CPAWS and Mountain Equipment Co-op in the spring of 2008. Our goal is to create a pan-Canadian movement that will advance the vision of keeping at least 50% of our public land and water permanently wild. We intend to do this by increasing the opportunity for Canadians to learn more about the need for wilderness protection and voice their support for it.

The Big Wild is not in itself a conservation campaign – rather it is a set of communications and engagement activities to support conservation campaigns by CPAWS and other charitable organizations across Canada for our “big wild” places.

People can become a part of The Big Wild in a wide number of ways, from taking a few minutes to visit the Web site, learn more and declare their support for our mission, to creating their own profile on the site as a Big Wild supporter where they can post stories, photos and videos of their own experiences in Canada’s Big Wild and share them with others, to checking out “spotlight” wilderness conservation campaigns and supporting efforts to advance them, to signing up for a “Big Wild Challenge” to raise funds for wilderness conservation. If you are hungry for even more, volunteer positions with CPAWS are always available.

The Big Wild Challenge is being introduced as an annual event that will invite participants to share their love of Canada’s big wild places by dedicating a self-propelled nature trip to wilderness protection. Challenge participants will be invited to raise funds for the cause, and to share their experiences by posting stories, photos and videos on The Big Wild Web site. There will be prizes for several categories of Challenge trips and reports. The Challenge will run from Victoria Day to Labour Day in 2008. Registrants can sign up for it at www.thebigwild.org.

For more information or to become involved, please visit www.thebigwild.org.

If you are interested in raising awareness about the CPAWS Calgary/Banff “spotlight” wilderness conservation campaign, the Castle Wilderness, by taking a Big Wild Challenge there, please get in touch with us at sferguson@cpawscalgary.org.