This is a guest post by Y2Y’s director of donor relations, Renée Krysko.
I live in Canmore, Alberta, on the border of Banff National Park. It’s wild here.
Grizzly bears, elk, wolves and other wildlife roam freely. I love sharing this space with them.
When I first moved to Canmore, I thought these iconic animals would always be here. But after learning about the loss of wildlife in other mountain ecosystems like the Alps and Appalachians, I realized the fragility of their existence.
It was then that I realized the importance of the Yellowstone to Yukon vision and sought to help realize it.
The Y2Y vision is for those of us around the globe who have been inspired by grizzly bears and wolverines, whose fragmented populations Y2Y is connecting across borders.
It’s for people who want their children to see the near-extinct caribou that Y2Y and First Nations in the region are working to protect and recover. It’s for citizens who want to tackle the climate crisis and know that by keeping nature intact, as Y2Y does, we — people, insects, birds, mammals, life — stand the best chance to thrive.
At Y2Y, we believe in more than a vision. We believe in collaboration and in science, and in the collective power of people who care and take action. Perhaps most importantly, we believe in hope.
Hope is at the core of Forever Wild, our planned giving and legacy donation program. It is also at the core of the ambitious but achievable Yellowstone to Yukon vision of an interconnected system of wild lands and waters stretching from one “Y” to the other, harmonizing the needs of people with those of nature.
People like John and Sue, Bob, Charlotte, and Jeremy — whose stories
you can read here — all share that hope, and they are all expressing it through their decisions to remember Y2Y in their wills. As am I.
If this resonates with you, too, find out more about how you can be a part of the Forever Wild program and help support the Y2Y vision for years to come, now.
