Rainforest Solutions Project

Promoting conservation and economic alternatives in British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest





The Grove: Campaign Blog & Newsroom

Day of Action for the Great Bear Rainforest

posted by: Administrator, March 13, 2012 at 4pm

By Eduardo Sousa (Greenpeace), Jens Wieting (Sierra Club BC) and Valerie Langer (ForestEthics)

Since launching the Take It Taller campaign just over a month ago, more than 6,000 people have taken action to protect the Great Bear Rainforest from unsustainable logging. These friends of the Great Bear Rainforest, are calling on the province of British Columbia to make sure that more than just half of this rare forest – one of the last of its kind in the world – is off-limits to logging.

Now imagine if most of these 6,000 supporters inspired at least one other person to take action to protect the Great Bear Rainforest, all on the same day. Our initial 6,000 supporters could swell to 10,000 people – all calling on the provincial government to take the necessary steps for healthy ecosystems and healthy communities in one of the largest intact coastal temperate rainforests. (And 10,000 people are hard to ignore.) It’s this simple arithmetic that provoked us to organize an online Day of Action for the Great Bear Rainforest.

On March 20, people who care about the Great Bear Rainforest will use their Facebook and Twitter accounts to invite others to call on the provincial government to fully implement the Great Bear Rainforest Agreements. By making the simple choice to donate their social media posts/status to the Great Bear Rainforest on March 20, supporters can help us reach our goal of saving one of the rarest forests on the planet.

How does it work? Just follow these steps:

1. Join our online Day of Action for the Great Bear Rainforest event page on Facebook. (Not a fan of Save the Great Bear Rainforest on Facebook yet? You’re two clicks away.)

2. Invite others on Facebook (and Twitter) to join the Day of Action by using the ‘Invite Friends’ function on the event page.

3. On March 20, everyone involved will post a link on their timeline to the Take It Taller action page (www.takeittaller.ca) as a highlighted post. The goal is to make as many people in your network aware of what’s happening in the Great Bear Rainforest, and for them to take action.

We’re closer than we’ve ever been to saving the Great Bear Rainforest from too much logging. Forestry companies are seriously examining how to adapt their businesses to operate within the natural limits of the forest. Sustainable economic development is also starting to take root in First Nations communities whose traditional territories make up the Great Bear Rainforest. The missing ingredient now is the will of the B.C. government to make sure all of these efforts and commitments are fully implemented before it’s too late.

But for the provincial government to act, they need to hear from you. Nearly 6,000 people have already added their name to the growing list of people who want to see more of the Great Bear Rainforest protected. On March 20th, we’ll have the chance to amplify our efforts by getting friends to do the same.