Nature Canada’s NatureBus Coming to Town! Canadians Care about Nature and Call on Decision Makers at COP15 in Montreal to Protect It
The NatureBus, a Nature Canada Bus tour, will stop at Riverside Park on Sunday, November 27 to collect messages calling on world leaders to halt and reverse nature loss. The messages will be delivered to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at NatureCOP, the UN biodiversity conference in Montreal.
NatureCOP (the 15th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity) will be held in Montreal December 7 to 19, 2022. With the world’s gaze focused on the city, Canadians have a chance to show just how committed they are to protecting nature.
“We are collaborating with allied groups locally to support the NatureBus because we care about nature and want to protect it,” said Nancy Flood, Kamloops Naturalist Club (KNC) President. “We are collecting messages from Canadians across the country calling on world leaders to act at the NatureCOP to stop and actually start reversing nature loss.”
On November 27, 2022 between 1-3 pm, the NatureBus will be stopping at Riverside Park north of the Sandman Centre to collect your letters. Come drop them off in person! Activities at the park will include:
- Tables with displays by the KNC and allied groups – fun facts about local native and endangered
species and ecosystems, and how we’re collaborating to protect and restore them - Free face painting featuring native species of animals and flowers by Cheeky Faces
- Free hot apple juice (thanks to NuLeaf Produce for contributing!)
- Valhalla Smoke House food truck (weather permitting)
- Fun crafts for kids of all ages
- Photo opportunities with salmon-themed artwork wrapped around the Nature Bus
Kamloops is within an hour of incredibly diverse ecosystems ranging from grasslands to mixed forests to alpine habitats, and these are home to dozens of endangered species. Our grasslands, in particular, store amazing amounts of carbon, and their preservation is a key climate action strategy. According to Nature Canada’s website, “hundreds of plant species and more than 60 species at risk depend on Canada’s grasslands. These landscapes store an estimated two to three billion tons of carbon in their root systems and soil, making up some of the highest carbon stocks in the world.”
“The planet is staring down the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss,” said Graham Saul, Executive Director at Nature Canada. “NatureCOP in Montreal could be the moment we turn things around for nature—and Canada unexpectedly finds itself in the driver’s seat.”
Nature Canada, one of Canada’s largest conservation organizations, has three buses going from town to town in regions across Canada collecting messages of support for a plan to restore nature. Buses will be leaving from Halifax, London, and Vancouver.
After delivering the messages to Prime Minister Trudeau at the start of NatureCOP, the messages will be displayed at Nature Canada’s installment at the Canada Pavilion. Expectations are high for NatureCOP. The world needs a strong Global Biodiversity Framework and Canada needs a clear action plan to halt and reverse nature loss. For NatureCOP to be a success, conference delegates need to know the depth of Canadians’ commitment to nature. The NatureBus will deliver that message.