Susan Marrier
A CPAWS CHAMPION
When I was looking for a way to support Canada’s wilderness, I researched several organizations that are doing good, important work. CPAWS impressed me with its broad geographical input and the variety of projects they support. Also, I learned that money donated to CPAWS has one of the largest impacts among Canadian charities. But why support an environmental organization at all?
Connection to nature has been part of my life since childhood, as my father taught me much about the natural world and its importance, taking me on hikes, canoe rides, and bird-watching expeditions. Then I came to Canada, and a whole new world of nature opened up to me: the Boreal Forest nearby, and several trips to the amazing, expansive Arctic. Given what is happening in our world and the devastation wrought by climate degradation and the race to exploit resources on and under precious Indigenous lands and the oceans, it became imperative to me to put a high priority on supporting an organization that works hard and respectfully to preserve as much of this heritage as possible for future generations. I encourage anyone to support these efforts whether with a little or a lot. Together we can make a difference.
— Susan
WHAT WOULD THE FOREST SAY?
A POEM BY SUSAN MARRIER
I am one; I am many. I am this tree reaching out to you in love. I am the hundreds of trees in this woods. I welcome and include the other plants that have been here from time immemorial. I am the squirrels that find, eat, and bury my seeds so that I may produce offspring of new trees. I am the voles, the mice, the butterflies and beetles, the stream running over rocks and rills as it sings in harmony with the wind in my branches.
But I am more than what you see here. I am also the trees in other places: they too are my kin. And when humans thoughtlessly cut them to feed their appetite for gain, we all tremble in pain.
In harmony with you and all living creatures, I give oxygen, shade, fruit; and for humans, enough of my body for their shelter. In return, I ask only to be protected from wanton exploitation, from careless fire and floods, from disease caused by human carelessness. I want only to be loved and to be allowed to continue, in life and in death, in relationship, reciprocal relationship, with all who call me home.
So come, relive your childhood memories of fun, imagination, exploration, in the arboretum of your youth. Come, commune with the tiny frogs in the Greenwood Forest. Come, hear the songbirds, and try to capture them with your camera or paints. Come, give me a hug and listen to my own heartbeat. Come, take cedar for your daily meditation and leave a thank offering of tobacco. Come, be renewed and refreshed by my scent, my sounds, my many colours—changing with each season, my wind on your cheek and my crunch under your feet, and the rough or smooth bark of my skin, the taste of my berries (though not all are meant for you, each has its purpose). And, if and when you can, speak up on my behalf. Humans have done me much harm, and I need humans to learn to love and respect me, and not only to stop the harm and learn to live in harmony, but also to help me to heal. Come.