The NatureBus Tour — a Special Delivery for Nature!

With Montreal’s COP15 Biodiversity Summit around the corner, the NatureBus Tour is collecting messages of support for a plan to restore nature. On December 7, the messages will be delivered to Prime Minister Trudeau at the U.N. NatureCOP conference in Montreal.

A voice for nature since 1939, Nature Canada is one of the country’s best-known conservation charities and dedicates itself to discovering, defending, and restoring nature. The environmental organization has helped protect over 110 million acres of parks and wildlife areas, along with the countless plant and animal species that call these areas home.

The organization believes that achieving racial justice and equality is critical for the well-being of nature. Its diverse network of local organizations, the Nature Network, is unparalleled, connecting and supporting over 1,200 groups across Canada.

Nature Canada makes enjoying and defending nature accessible through numerous programs and campaigns. Its strategies for protecting nature are backed by research and powered by a passion for the great outdoors.

Now, the organization is uniting its country-wide Nature Network for an exciting new campaign — the highly anticipated NatureBus Tour.

A critical summit

The NatureBus Tour campaign was created ahead of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15 or NatureCOP), which will take place in Montreal from December 7 to 19. There, representatives from 195 countries will convene to set an action plan for nature to cover the next decade.

The Canadian government joined the global 30×30 conservation coalition to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. But until now, there has yet to be a plan to accomplish this. That’s why COP15 is incredibly important — it’s an opportunity for Canada’s actions to realign with its conservation goals.

And thanks to years-long negotiations, there’s hope that convention attendees will be signing a new international agreement, the Global Biodiversity Framework, to end and undo biodiversity loss over the next decade. Nature Canada recognizes that this could lead to the implementation of long-awaited federal action plans and generate real progress.

Working toward a common goal

Now, the organization is making this message known to all Canadians via a nationwide NatureBus Tour. The tour will conclude in Montreal with three buses making stops across Ontario, British Columbia, and the Atlantic provinces. The buses will deliver letters from people across the country to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at COP15.

Nature Canada’s Nature Network is helping organize country-wide bus stop events to draw the public’s attention to COP15. Like the root system of a tree, these different groups — birders, botanists, trail associations, wildlife centres, land trusts, and friends of local parks — are coming together to sustain a larger effort.

Several exciting partnerships on the tour include a collaboration with renowned artist Patrick Thompson, who has worked with children to design art for the buses. Social media influencer and conservationist Blake Moynes will also host a beach cleaning and polar bear dip in Hamilton. Even the Toronto Zoo will offer discounted admission for those who put messages on the bus.

A hopeful future

Thanks to this dynamic system of environmental promotors and protectors, the NatureBus Tour is set to be a fun-filled, influential movement. At COP15, Nature Canada will let decision-makers know how important nature conservation is to Canadians.