Children and Nature Network Fundraising

Last week we travelled to San Diego to attend the first ever gala for the Children and Nature Network. The event took place on a paddlewheeler boat in Mission Bay. It was attended by C&NN’s board of directors, Richard Louv and a lot of other generous individuals who helped to raise a whole lot of money for the organization.  Check out this blog to read more about it.  The highlight for me was definitely meeting and introducing Canada’s favourite wildlife artist and conservationist, Mr. Robert Bateman. I’m not sure who was more excited to meet him, me or my Mom! The really fun part came when the live auction started and people were bidding on things like a safari in Africa and a trip to the Galapagos Islands. One of the items available during the silent auction was this limited edition print by Mr. Bateman. He was kind enough to explain to me that the fox had been chasing a squirrel up a sugar maple in Ontario one winter and the photo was captured by a friend. He told me that most days he paints until ten o’clock at night and often gets part way through a painting, starts a new one and then later returns to his unfinished pieces. He is so lucky to live on a place like Saltspring Island where he can enjoy the scenery and the outdoors every day.

There was a lot of talk in San Diego that night about people’s disconnections from nature. Someone said during the gala that adults shouldn’t be asking “what kind of world will we be leaving our kids but rather what kind of kids will we be leaving this world”.  It’s a great question don’t you think?  Everyone who was there was inspired by the discussions and the talks and the Children and Nature Network will continue to do an amazing job of helping kids get in touch and stay in touch with the great outdoors thanks to the efforts of so many.