Two months ago, 34 black-footed ferrets were released into the Prairies after being absent from the Canadian landscape for 70 years.This important moment was witnessed and spearheaded by members of the Toronto Zoo, who have been breeding the black-footed ferrets and working to reintroduce them into their original habitats across the U.S and Mexico since 1992. Finally, it was Canada's turn.
"It's like a Canadian celebration, that an expatriated species is now living back on Canadian soil, it's pretty amazing," said Maria Franke, curator of mammals at the Toronto Zoo.
The Toronto Zoo has been releasing endangered species back into their natural habitats for many years, including marmots on Vancouver Island and the crested toad in Puerto Rico.
But this conservation work couldn't happen without the help of multiple funding partners, and Franke said one of the zoo's supporters for the black-footed ferret project is the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF).
The CWF has given the Toronto Zoo $29,800 over the next three years through their Endangered Species program, to help the zoo monitor the ferrets that are now living in Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan.
"They were amazing and jumped on board and they've supplied funds for some education resources that we're putting together for ferret recovery and also for assisting Toronto Zoo staff in participating in the post-release monitoring system," Franke said.
This partnership is perfect in many ways, Franke said, especially since the CWF has the same goals of conservation and education as the zoo, and funds several programs such as the endangered species program, to facilitate them.
Established in 1962, CWF is one of the largest, non-profit, charitable conservation organizations in Canada, with their head office in Kanata, Ontario and two regional offices in Regina, Saskatchewan and Quebec.
They have a range of programs from education and awareness to funding other organization's programs, such as the Toronto Zoo, said Heather Robison, media and community relations officer, CWF, Regina.
Robison said the organization is mainly funded by its 300,000 supporters across Canada, and the money is used to fund conservation, research and awareness, with a focus on educational programs.
"It's all about getting people excited about wild species and spaces, getting them interested and active in projects, inspiring them to take action and raising awareness," Robison said. "Our basic mission is to ensure an appreciation for the natural world and the lasting legacy of healthy wildlife and habitat."
This legacy is important for all of us, Robison said, but especially for our children who will be taking over the reigns of caring for our world.
Guildwood Junior P.S. in Scarborough is full of children who care about their environment.
The school has a thriving Eco-Club and it's an Eco-Platinum school, which is the highest level of achievement recognized by the Toronto District School Board's Eco-Schools program.
Last year, their work was recognized with the Canadian Wildlife Federation National Wildlife Week Award for Best Entry and Overall Winner.
"The students were thrilled," said Lorraine Andrews, the head of the Eco-Club and the school's grades 5 and 6 teacher.
"We try to get the kids involved when we're looking at plants and books and in deciding which plants would attract birds, butterflies. We want their input because that's the ownership, and when they have that ownership they love it and want to take care of it," she said.
Andrews, who initiates many of the school's eco-endeavours, said the school received two grants equalling $800 through CWF's Wild Schools programs. The money was used to buy trees, shrubs and equipment to build bird shelters to put around the school grounds.
"I would apply to CWF for grants and the money would then go into the purchase of shrubs, it could be building bird houses, there were a number of initiatives they helped us accomplish," Andrews said.
The Greening Guildwood initiative began more than five years ago when the school built an outdoor teaching garden and it has continued to grow from there. Each year, staff and students do more, and they are hoping to build another outdoor teaching area for students.
Andrews said their eco-initiatives help students foster appreciation and care of their environment and make them aware of environmental issues.
"It's about the greening of Guildwood, but it's not just that, it's about the planet in general," Andrews said.
Guildwood is also using CWF's Wild Schools educational material in their lesson plans about the environment, animals, habitat, soil and trees.
Robison said schools across Ontario are using the CWF's programs, which also includes Blue Schools, a water awareness program, and Project Wild, which trains teachers to deliver environmental education programs to students.
"There's also Fish Ways, where the focus is on fish and there's Below Zero, that is winter educational activities, so there are all kinds of programs and they're really broad and comprehensive and a lot of them are really exciting and fun," Robison said.
Currently, the CWF has three main priorities and education initiatives they are focusing on: endangered species, water conservation and climate change. Robison said they attend conferences all over the world as these issues are global and affect us all.
"Wildlife knows no boundaries, they are migrating from country to country and a lot of our resources are interconnected, for example water, so we have to work with partners all over in raising awareness and advocating," she said.
Visit http://www.cwf-fcf.org/en/index.html for details about the organization.