WWF-Canada announces historic, 5-year gift from the Barrett Family Foundation to help Regenerate Canada

The family's significant gift, the largest in WWF's history, will fund efforts to recover wildlife, fight climate change and get the future of our planet back on track.

TORONTO, Nov. 20, 2024 /CNW/ - After nearly three decades of support, the Barrett Family Foundation is embarking on its biggest endeavour yet with World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada): a five-year, philanthropic partnership to fight the dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.

This extraordinary partnership will support WWF-Canada's 10-year strategic plan to Regenerate Canada, which encompasses three ambitious goals — to protect and steward 100 million hectares of vital ecosystems, restore one million hectares more, and reduce carbon emissions by 30 million tonnes by 2030.

Specifically, the Barrett Family Foundation's transformative gift will enable WWF-Canada to:

• Engage young people to take student-led actions for nature through WWF's Living Planet @ School and Living Planet @ Campus programs.
• Support Indigenous-led efforts to restore forests and salmon spawning grounds in B.C.;
• Continue its conservation efforts across a warming Arctic to help its fast-changing ecosystems stay in balance;
• Build resilience in the Wolastoq watershed in New Brunswick through riverbank and floodplain restoration;
• Support seed orchards in Ontario to grow the native plants we need to restore habitats;
• Conduct research on costal ecosystems and the potential of blue carbon to fight climate change;
• Further develop the Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCA) Support Fund, which provides financial support to Indigenous communities considering, establishing or maintaining protected areas in their territories, and;

The Barrett Family Foundation has previously supported WWF-Canada's efforts to study species at risk, map renewable energy potential, and protect marine ecosystems. The foundation's philanthropy extends well beyond WWF-Canada with a longstanding commitment to environment, education, health, the arts and humanitarian causes.

Megan Leslie, president and CEO of WWF-Canada, says:

"At nearly the halfway point of our plan to Regenerate Canada, we are making progress towards our ambitious goals. But recovering species at risk and fighting climate change is no small undertaking. We are grateful to the Barrett Family Foundation for their trust and confidence in WWF-Canada. Their historic support will keep us moving forward and enable us to scale up and accelerate the great work we've set out to do.

The impact of this philanthropic partnership will be transformative, touching on all planes of our work, from community and youth engagement to Indigenous-led restoration, to carbon sequestration. We are excited for what we will accomplish together for nature and wildlife in the next five years."

Alister Mathieson, Executive Director of the Barrett Family Foundation, says:

"Supporting environment sustainability is one of the foundation's core values and to be able to fund the initiatives of WWF's Regenerate Canada strategic plan aligns perfectly with our systems change model of giving. We are very excited to partner with WWF and see the impacts of our donation on wildlife protection, habitat and biodiversity restoration."

About WWF-Canada

WWF-Canada is committed to equitable and effective conservation actions that restore nature, reverse wildlife loss and fight climate change. We draw on scientific analysis and Indigenous guidance to ensure all our efforts connect to a single goal: a future where wildlife, nature and people thrive. For more information visit wwf.ca.

SOURCE World Wildlife Fund Canada

For more information, please contact: Lorayne Roque, Communications specialist, WWF-Canada, [email protected]