Jacobs First Christmas

Unfortunately Jacob lost his sister Bella two weeks ago however he did not have to celebrate Christmas alone. I made sure to hang a stocking in his honour and fill it will kitty treats and a toy for his height. He is such a sweetie and has already received one call from a family this afternoon interested in adopting him! Lets hope the meeting goes well and he will be with his forever family shortly!

xoxox

nicole

Meaningful Gifts!

*Christmas morning with my Caribbean Conservation Corp. gifts*

During this Christmas I was able to give and receive some very meaningful gifts that were not only heartfelt but also would help save the planet! Take a look at some of the various gifts that gave back to conservation organizations!

*Michael colouring his Mono Titi*

For Christmas, I gave my three little cousins adopted animals that they could put into the scrapbook I made for them last year. In the past I had given them sea turtles and manatees but this year I decided to adopt a tree for the mono titi's in Costa Rica through Kids Saving The Rainforest. My cousins received a certificate of adoption for their tree as well as a picture of the critically endangered Mono Titi monkey for the region of Manuel Antonio. The kids really enjoyed putting the certificates into their scrapbook as well as decorating the pages with the stickers and markers I provided. There are now two more trees in CR in honour of these two little human monkeys!

*My godson Nicholas with his scrapbook*

*Michael proud of his accomplishments!!*

Christmas morning I also received an adopted Marmot through the Vancouver Island Marmot Foundation which helps to save Canada's most critically endangered specie. My cousins Paul and Maria also adopted a baby gorilla for me through the Dian Fossey Gorilla Foundation! These were amongst some of my favourite gifts this Christmas!!

xoxox

n

Merry Christmas To All!

*"Jacob" my foster kitten dressed at Kris Kringle*

It has been a wonderful year for conservation and environmental awareness. Even though we did not get what we truly wanted in Copenhagen we at least know the door has been opened and the word is out. The governments around the world cannot ignore us anymore! Tonight I will be surrounded by my family for Christmas Eve dinner and again tomorrow for Christmas but my thoughts and prayers will sincerely be with all the children and animals around the world and in my own backyard who will be without love, food and shelter these next couple of days. We must all remember those who have less than us and do what we can to help those in need. Monetary donations as well as hours volunteered can go a long way in making someone or something feel extra special.

*"Rambo"- 7 yrs old available for adoption at the OSPCA*

I visited the Hamilton/Burlington OSPCA yesterday to give some extra love and kisses to the animals who will not be spending Christmas in a warm home by the fireplace surrounded by love and laughter. However I truly believe their luck will change in 2010, just as Jacobs did, and next year they will find their forever families!

*A very sweet-sad eyed Beagle available for adoption at the OSPCA*

To all, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2010 for all of your family, friends and furry loved ones!

xoxox

love always,

Nicole

A Great Read!!

I just finished reading Jeff Corwins "100 Heartbeats" and I Love LOVED this book! I never knew too much about Jeff Corwin but I am now a huge fan of

his! He is a true conservationist and is out on the front lines trying to save wildlife! I would recommend this book to anyone that is passionate or wanting to learn more about conservation! It doesn't just focus on sad extinction stories but also shows us how humans can and have to save our species! Thanks Jeff for a great read! I also hear that he will be releasing a DVD or will be having an Animal Planet special focusing on stories from this book!

xoxoxoxo

nicole

Disney Oceans Trailer Is Out!

I honestly can't wait to see this documentary in theaters! Last year my friends and I went to see "Earth" its opening weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Not only did Disney planet a tree for each individual who went to see it opening weekend but it also opened up peoples eyes to the beauty of out planet. I am sure Disney will not fail with "Oceans" and I hope it inspires the public to respect the place that so many mammals and fish call home!

Money Is In & Donations Received!!

Well after four very long and hectic weeks my stainless steel water bottle campaign is officially over as I retuned the unsold bottles to warehouse today! Overall it was a very succesful campaign and I could not be happier with the hundreds of dollars that have been raised for various conservation and environmental charities!! At the high school I work at we sold 48 bottles and raised $140.00 CAD!!! We are all so proud of ourselves and I was so impressed at the amount of students who forked over their hard earned money to buy something that would help the planet! The Green Team and I met Wednesday afterschool and we decided to divide and donate the money as following:

The first thing we wanted to donate to was an organization that helps protect and reforest the rainforest! After a lot of research we have chosen to donate $25.00 USD to the The Rainforest Trust which works to protect the rainforest and magnificent jaguars Brazil!! We hope our money will help them to buy much needed land which will otherwise be sold to farmers for cattle ranches and/or logging companies.

Protecting our native Canadian wildlife is also very important for us that is why we decided to donate $25.00 CAD to the Canadian Marmot Foundation which helps to restore the critically endangered marmot population on Vancouver Island. With only 100 remaining in the wild only a few years ago the foundation has made great strides in helping to save these adorable creatures! We are very proud to help them out again this year!!

Everyone knows that Sea Turtles are some of my favourite animals so its no surprise that my students decided to donate to a foundation that helps preserve and protect them!! This time we decided to donate $25.00 USD to WIDECAST - The Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network which has various projects on many different islands and countries!

Last but not least we chose the Orangutan Foundation through Wildlifedirect.org to give our final donation to. We were able to put together $30.00USD to support these amazing apes that are very endangered due to habitat loss and poaching. Who can resist these little red apes! We must do everything we can to protect them and their habitat now!!!

xoxoxo

nicole

Climate Change Rally & Vigil

Last night I attended my very first climate change rally and candlelight vigil and had a great time!! I first arrived at the Earth Sciences U of T building at about 3:30. I was happy to see many different individuals from all ages and races sitting in the auditorium. On the big screen on the stage was a live feed from Copenhagen featuring Canadian activists from Greenpeace and other organizations who were attending the events and rallies that were currently taken place in Denmark. Unfortunately all of the activists and speakers were not happy with the talks that were being said and they expressed concern regarding Stephen Harpers (Canada's Prime Minister) stance on climate change. He is said to not be taking a serious position on this very important cause and is not setting a proper example for the developing world. Fortunately Australia and Japan have stepped forward and have set higher standards for themselves as developed Nations. They have set their own emission caps above and beyond what the current Kyoto Protocol calls for.

During the 3 hour rally we were treated to guest speakers from EcoSanity, Greenpeace, The Toronto Climate Campaign and music!! One of my favourite moments from the event was when members from EcoSanity.org came out dressed in red bras and sang a climate change anthem! It really got the crowd going and we all joined in signing along.

After the rally we all headed out with candles and banners to march toward Queens Park singing "Copenhagen Carols" and chanting different slogans! We got some great supportive honks and cheers!

(thats me in the hate holding the "green jobs now" sign)

The candlelight vigil was very inspiring especially after learning that there were over 300 events taking palace around the planet at the same time. We all took a 350 second moment of silence to commemorate the safe amount of carbon dioxide scientists say is allowable for our planet.

As you can see it was an awesome turnout and I am so thankful to everyone who organized this wonderful and very important event!!

xoxox

nicole

Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Good Night................

I will be on my way downtown in about an hour. Just got to feed the kittens and change their litterbox before I leave. Tonight it the climate change candlelight vigil taking place in Queens Park at 7pm. I will also be stopping by the Earth Sciences Auditorium in the University of Toronto to watch a Live Feed of whats going on in Copenhagen. I believe there will be guest speakers and loads of activists so I can't wait!! I will definitely takes lots of photos and post asap!

xoxox

n

New Video Of My First Family!

As you may, or may not know, I am a HUGE Irwin family fan! I have loved Steve, Bindi, Terri and then Robert since 2001 when I first saw a Crocodile Hunter episode on Animal Planet while vacationing in Florida! I can remember my cousin begging and yelling at me to join her on the beach however I couldn't budge until this crazy man named Steve and his beautiful wife Terri were finished educating me on various reptiles and wildlife. Thats when my love affair with the Irwins began and it has never faltered for one moment.

I can remember dragging my best friend Serena with me to the movies to watch "Crocodile Hunter Collision Course" on the silver screen and I still have Steve, Terri and Bindi's Oprah episode recorder on a VHS in my basement. The Irwin family are my heros and I will always be grateful for what they have instilled in me. I am the wildlife warrior I am today because of them! My dream is to one day meet Bindi and Robert. I had the incredible opportunity to meet Wes and Terri back in 2007 when they visited Toronto for an Australian Tourism Gala......unfortunately Bindi and Robert were already up in their hotel room sleeping away. I know one day I will have the chance to meet those two incredible children and I can't wait to meet them in person!!

Please enjoy the video. It was recorded last week right after Robert's 6th Birthday!!

xoxox

nicole

My New Babies

As I sit hear at my laptop all I can hear is "MEOW, MEOOOW.......MEOOOOOOW" hahaha

Even though it does get a bit annoying it is still great to hear these two siblings being able to sing loud and proud. These two little guys whom I have named Jacob (orange long hair) and Bella (black) are so lucky to be out of the shelter alive. Unfortunately Jacob isn't feeling too well and is having a bit of diarrhea. I have been syringing him some A/D which will hopefully bind his tummy and give him some extra needed calories. Of course they should still be with their mama as they are only around 4 to 5 weeks of age but they came in as strays without any mother to care for them. Bella is running around and has lots of energy, I just hope Jacob will begin to hop around just as much! Wish me luck AND sleep!!

xoxox

nicole

New Site!

Well I think I have just come across my new favourite website! It is called "Green Is Sexy" and features many different things such as green places, films, products and recipes. Not only do they advertise many great things they also have a section where they give the latest green tips. The site is run by three awesome Torontonian friends and its nice for me to see and hear about local events and places. Keep up the great work ladies!!

Check out the site for yourself: http://www.greenissexy.org/

Candlelight Vigil in Toronto!

Ughhhh first of all I want to apologize for my lack of updates in the past week. I have been extremely busy at work and home selling stainless steel water bottles for conservation charities. My campaign ends tomorrow and I will have a full list of how many bottles were sold and how much money was raised for Animal-Kind International, The Endangered Wildlife Trust and The Orangutan Foundation! Just as a little teaser, I am extremely pleased with how well the campaign has gone and I must say that "kids" have outdone the adults this time which gives me GREAT hope for the future.

For all of my Toronto readers I wanted to let you know that there will be an upcoming candlelight vigil taking place on Saturday December 12th from 7pm-9pm at Queens Park downtown. I am VERY excited that I will be able to attend! This will be my very first candlelight vigil and I couldn't be happier about the cause. Hundreds of us will be joining together to take a stand on tackling climate change and encourage our Canadian leaders to take action and be a role model for developing countries to curb their emissions. I promise to take lots of photos and report back on how it was! If you live in Toronto please consider taking two hours out of your Saturday night on the 12th to let your voice be heard!