By Tayvie Van Eeuwen
@tayvieeee
This past month has brought an influx of good news and we all need it. Enjoy!
Local
Compassionate stranger rescues elk from BC mountain avalanche
All hail Jesse Dahlberg! 🙌🏼
The Golden native was watching railroad crews trigger avalanches in Field, BC on February 3 when he spotted an elk in the line of fire. Soon, a rapid downfall of snow hurdled toward the helpless animal.
“I didn’t know how big the avalanche was going to be so I was hoping for the best, and when I saw it … I thought there’s no way that elk is going to survive,” Dahlberg told CBC News.
“That wall of snow caught up to that elk so fast and just blasted it.”
Devastated by the blow, Dahlberg quickly drove over to the area with a friend. There, he found the covered face of the elk poking out of the snow.
“I could tell it was alive,” he said. “It was looking at me, I could see its nose moving. It couldn’t move, it was in that snow like concrete.
“It was alive and I wanted to save it.”
Over the next 15 minutes, Dahlberg and his friend dug the animal out with first their hands, then a shovel. After removing the elk’s hind legs, a final shove freed the mammal—who took a few steps before stopping to stare at the human pair.
Thankfully, the animal did not just survive the blast but managed to avoid any major injuries or broken bones. Dahlberg reported pure joy, telling CBC:
“I put my arms up and started cheering because I was so excited that it was alive. The whole time I didn’t know if its back was broken or its legs were broken. I was so happy.”
BC man who helped stranded Americans rewarded with a brand new car
In late 2020, Gary Bath, a Canadian ranger and military veteran, gained national media attention for reuniting a stranded American family.
Lynn Marchessault and her family were stuck in a snowstorm in British Columbia on the way to see with her husband, a US Army member stationed at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. Marchessault had never driven in the snow when she embarked on the cross-continental journey.
Bath stepped up to the challenge, driving over 1,600 kilometres and two days to reunite the family at the Canada-Alaska border. Now, his good deed has been rewarded by Planters, an American nut company, who have given both Bath and Marchessault a new car and a lifetime supply of peanuts. 🚗 🥜
“They reached out through (Facebook) Messenger, trying to get a hold of us,” Bath said in an interview. “Their message was like: ‘I know this is going to sound crazy, but trust us, it’s true.”’
“I was pretty shocked. I thought the story had had its run and we were done.”
Planter’s gesture was part of a larger decision to forgo a Super Bowl ad to recognize kind citizens with $5 million worth of giveaways.
🎉🎉🎉
Toronto woman fundraises over $17K for homeless man living in frigid conditions
As witnessed across North America, this winter has presented frigid conditions for those experiencing homelessness. One particular man, Cliff, was supported by his Toronto community to find refugee from the cold.
Donations started pouring in after local Etobicoke resident Luisa Piccirilli set up a GoFundMe campaign.
“This is Cliff. He is a very kind soul living in our neighbourhood. He is homeless and most days can be found at the bus shelter on Prince Edward or Grenview south of Bloor,” the campaign reads.
“It was frigid last night and the temperature will drop even further this evening. I called The Queensway Motel and managed to secure a room for Cliff for a week starting today. I was able to negotiate a rate of $500 for the week.”
Since January 29, the campaign has raised over $17,000. A February 8 update wrote that Cliff had received clothes, home-cooked meals, gift cards from the community, in addition to free glasses from FYI Doctors. He is currently in the process of finding permanent housing with a social worker.
If you would like to support Cliff, please visit the GoFundMe campaign, here.
Worldwide
Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
WELL DESERVED. 👏🏼
Announced on February 1, Norwegian MP Petter Eide nominated the global Black Lives Matter movement “for their struggle against racism and racially motivated violence.”
“BLM’s call for systemic change have spread around the world, forcing other countries to grapple with racism within their own societies,” he wrote in his official nomination papers.
Eide has represented the Socialist Left party in parliament for four years, in which the Norwegian Nobel Committee holds strong values for racial justice and peace. Previous winners such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Frederik Willem de Klerk have also been recognized by the committee for anti-racism work.
“I find that one of the key challenges we have seen in America, but also in Europe and Asia, is the kind of increasing conflict based on inequality,” Eide wrote. “Black Lives Matter has become a very important worldwide movement to fight racial injustice.
“They have had a tremendous achievement in raising global awareness and consciousness about racial injustice.”
As for any backlash, Eide says that claims of BLM being a violent organization are wrong.
“I condemn all kinds of violence. However, these arguments were the same when Martin Luther King received the prize in 1964, or when Mandela received it in 1993.”
Here’s hoping BLM wins the prize!
Ikea buys 11,000 acres of forest in Georgia for conservation
Ikea has always been one of favourite places, but now my admiration has reached new levels.
Meet the Ingka Group: the major investment group of Ikea, who owns and operates most of the Swedish retail stores. They recently made headlines for buying 11,000 acres of forestland in southeast Georgia to protect the land from commercial development.
The Altamaha River Basin land holds diverse ecosystems with over 350 plant and wildlife species, including the endangered longleaf pine and gopher tortoise. With only 4% of longleaf pine forest left in the United States, this action could not have been taken soon enough.
“We truly believe responsible forest management is possible and we see that a large part of our responsibility towards the land we own — and by extension the planet — is to restore forests and plant more than we harvest,” Ingka Investments managing director Krister Mattsson told CNN.
“In all our properties nature conservation is important. In this particular US investment in Georgia, first it is important that the land cannot be broken up into small units and it remains forever forestland.”
A vast majority of the land will be available to the public for recreational purposes, while also providing restricted areas for conservation. Said land was purchased from the Conservation Fund, which operates a philanthropic operation to protect against land fragmentation.
“We are honored to work with Ingka Group and applaud its dedication to preserve and enhance forest quality in the U.S. and Europe,” The Conservation Fund president Larry Selzer said in a statement. “Well-managed forests provide essential benefits, including clean water and important wildlife habitat, as well as mitigating climate change.”
Happy Suggestions
How 2 Alberta Métis women secured 65 hectares of ‘Land Back’ in 3 months
Tayvie is a Métis/Anihšināpē and Irish/Scottish student and writer. Her circle is small, but her joy is large. She splits her time between over-thinking and visiting Disneyland. Read her articles to take a peek inside the world of mental illness and happy news, because it’s all about balance, right? Follow @passagebeading for her hand-made Indigenous earrings.
