Written by: Alison Ronson, Interim National Executive Director
Yesterday morning I wrote about my excitement at representing CPAWS at the Nature Champions Summit this week in Montreal: what ambitious goals will the Nature Champions commit to for the protection of nature over the course of these two days?
The conversation has been an interesting one so far – I sat in on a panel and discussion about innovative financial tools for nature conservation, and also had the opportunity to observe an engaged group of youth and young adults as they discussed the barriers to youth engagement in conservation. And then, last night, we heard from Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna and Alexandra Cousteau about the need to change the message around nature conservation from one of loss to one of recovery and abundance.
Over the course of the day it became clear that there are themes weaving through this summit: how do we encourage people to care about nature? Is the nature conservation community stuck inside its own echo chamber? What can we, as both individuals and Nature Champions, do to spread the word about the value and importance of nature?
These are difficult questions, but there can be some simple answers: we can start talking to each other about the importance of nature in our day-to-day lives. How can people value nature if it remains an “other” that is separate from us? We can stop reminiscing about days gone by and start communicating messages of hope about what we can achieve for nature in the future – a message of hope is much more likely to make people act.
Finally, there was a very clear message that I hope we all take into today’s conversations – that it feels amazing when one’s actions align with one’s values. I hope all the Nature Champions have internalized this and that the announcements of today will reflect this. If we are all #AllInForNature, then our commitments will be more than words. They will be the value statements that the government bodies, private businesses, and organizations present at this summit will act on tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. Why? Because it feels amazing.
Stay tuned for CPAWS’ own announcement at 1:05pm ET!