What a wild ride!
The crowdfunding campaign for our new documentary, Toad People, has now come to an end.
With the help of the 248 contributors who supported our project, we raised a whopping $17,451 to complete the film and take it on tour across British Columbia!
We are thrilled with the result – thank you to everyone who participated and helped us spread the word!
Artist and scientist Jean L Polfus donated this stunning caribou artwork as a perk for the Toad People crowdfunding campaign.
By Chloe Speakman, Wilderness Committee Campaign Assistant
Jean Lieppert Polfus is a scientist and an artist – a somewhat rare combination in academia.
She grew up in northern Wisconsin, skiing, canoeing, camping and hiking in the surrounding hardwood forests. She was raised with the understanding that there are a multitude of unique beings in the world, each perceiving the world in unique ways. Her mom is an artist, so she and her sister were always encouraged to express themselves through drawing and painting.
Jean’s commitment to wildlife, wild places and the people who depend on them comes from a series of experiences she’s had over the course of her life. She’s always found witnessing animals in wild landscapes hugely impactful.
Jean continues to find value in the diversity of life, and she also values the opportunity to make a difference for species at risk in her career.
By Isabelle Groc, Toad People Co-Director / Wilderness Committee BC Species at Risk Project Coordinator
Join Monica Pearson on an exclusive wetland field trip to see Oregon spotted frogs and other endangered BC amphibians. (Photo: Isabelle Groc)
When she was two years old, Monica Pearson lived close to Camosun Bog in Vancouver’s Pacific Spirit Regional Park. She spent most of her time outside sitting on a trail and playing with plants.
Her fascination for all things wild never faded, and as an adult she became a conservation biologist specializing in at-risk amphibians and wetland habitat restoration in British Columbia. Her favourite part of her work is designing and building habitat – a task she compares to sculpting with an excavator.
For the last eight years, Monica has been studying the secret life of one of the most beautiful and cryptic gems of the wetland, the Oregon spotted frog.
By Chloe Speakman, Wilderness Committee Campaign Assistant
Become a Toad Person to join Andrea Gielens for a 1-on-1 field trip to see painted turtles in their habitat! (Photo: Wildlife Preservation Canada)
Andrea Gielens grew up in Aldergrove, BC, next door to a prime habitat area for Oregon spotted frogs. She’s always been interested in animals – from hatching frogs in buckets in her backyard to saving birds and shrews from the neighbourhood cats.
“Like most kids, I thought I was going to be a vet or a marine biologist,” Andrea recalls. “It wasn’t until my last semester of university that I got to be involved in direct conservation work with a local conservation centre.”
Toad People are people like you, in communities across British Columbia and beyond, who are stepping up to protect the wildlife in their backyards.
You can become a Toad Person by supporting our new documentary film project to help bring inspiring wildlife stories to the big screen.
Check out this short video to see why this project is so important to us – and to the many at-risk species that call BC home.
Are you a Toad Person? from The Wilderness Committee on Vimeo.
Contribute to the Toad People crowdfunding campaign at: indiegogo.com/projects/toad-people#/
Become a Toad Person! Check out our campaign on Indiegogo.
We are very excited to announce the launch of our Toad People crowdfunding campaign, along with the release of the trailer!
Crowdfunding is a way to contribute money online for a specific project you support. Your contribution can range from just $1 to $5,000 or more, and if you choose, it can come with a perk.
We are aiming to raise $20,000 for Toad People to cover filming, sound editing, music composition, post-production editing, community outreach and screenings.