By Eleanor Wilson, Begbie View Elementary
Grade five Begbie View student Alyssa Bollefer cares a lot about the declining numbers of caribou in our region. She also knows a lot about them. Her dad, Kevin Bollefer, is involved in the Revelstoke Caribou Rearing in the Wild (RCRW) project which has built and operated a maternity pen to help the survival rates of baby caribou.
Alyssa decided to share her knowledge and passion with her fellow students at Begbie View by giving presentations about local caribou herds to most of the classes in the school. She then organized a class challenge to raise funds for the purchase of tracking collars for the baby caribou. This campaign – called “Quarter for a Caribou” since our twenty-five cent coin features this impressive animal – had a goal of $300, which is the price tag for one collar.
The final tally at the end of the month-long coin drive was $666.20, thanks to the many families at Begbie View and a generous donation by Consummate Building Services. Alyssa presented the funds to RCRW representatives Corey Legebokow and Sarah Boyle at a recent school assembly.
In her address to the school, Ms. Boyle thanked all the students and Alyssa for their generous support of this important project. Mr. Legebokow added that the collars purchased with the funds from Alyssa’s campaign will go to the first two baby caribou to be released. Students will then get updates on the whereabouts of “their” baby caribou.
For more information about the Revelstoke Caribou Rearing in the Wild project see our article on page 12, or visit rcrw.ca.