2019 Wolverine Fundraiser — Great Prizes to be Won!
Picture this: you and your partner/spouse/friend/family member heading out at dawn in a helicopter with the glorious Canadian Rocky Mountains range on your left, the equally stunning Columbia Mountains to your right, and a day in the field ahead of you flying into stunning, alpine settings alongside a wolverine researcher working on a ground-breaking scientific study. Sound like something you could get into?
DONATE NOW: netcommunity.ucalgary.ca/wolverine
[After you donate, please send an email to johnemarriott@gmail.com to be eligible for the prizes, please include your contact information and which donation category you fall under: <$100, $100-199, $200-299, $300-399, etc. All information will be treated confidentially and won’t be shared or used beyond prize allocation]
It’s time for another fundraiser, and this time we’ve got another great cause, WOLVERINES (!!), and an equally fantastic line-up of donated prizes, including TWO separate grand prizes of helicopter-assisted ‘days in the field’ with a wolverine researcher in British Columbia, eighteen different wildlife prints from some of Canada’s best wildlife photographers (see below for details on how to win these prizes), and a day in the field photographing wildlife one-on-one with me!
So what’s the wolverine fundraising cause? University of Calgary PhD student, Mirjam Barrueto, is in the second year of a ground-breaking, three-year wolverine project stretching across a vast chunk of the Columbia and Canadian Rocky Mountains and halfway through this very successful field season, the project has lost a major source of funding, jeopardizing completion of this crucial second year of field work.
Mirjam is studying the effects of human activities and natural processes on wolverine reproduction and connectivity — in layman’s terms, she’s trying to find out what keeps female wolverines around. Where are breeding females still found outside of protected areas? And how are human activities (skiing, snowmobiling, hiking, trapping, logging) affecting wolverine habitat and breeding females?
We know that wolverines are tough carnivores that require huge, wild areas to survive. We also know that despite their toughness, wolverines are not invincible. Wolverine habitat everywhere is increasingly impacted by human activity, and climate change is influencing the spring snowpack they rely on for survival. Wolverines are currently listed under the Canadian Species At Risk Act, yet very little is known about their populations, and as a result, we don’t know how to protect them.
The project is key to ensuring wolverines’ long-term success in British Columbia and beyond. Led by the University of Calgary, Mirjam’s study brings together conservation organizations, helicopter and cat ski businesses, government agencies and scientists who are all interested in wolverine and landscape conservation.
So what do we need to raise and how are we doing it? Mirjam has already raised half of her $80,000 goal to complete 2019 field work, which means we need to raise another $40,000. Thankfully, until April 25th, every donation made to the project is eligible to be matched dollar for dollar by the University of Calgary to a maximum of $2500 per donation as part of their Giving Day Campaign. So our goal with this fundraiser is $20,000. If we can come up with that, we can help fund the rest of Mirjam’s 2019 field season and allow her to complete this crucial work.
The Prizes – Wildlife Prints and Field Days with John and Mirjam!
Like most of my fundraisers, we’re going to have two levels of prizes. The first is for anyone that donates $25 or more. You’ll automatically have an equal chance at winning one of eighteen photographic prints from many of Canada’s top wildlife photographers, including six prints from myself, one from Brandon T. Brown, five from Cai Priestley, four from Colleen Gara and two from Terry Bilton (you can view all of the various prints up for grabs at the bottom of this post, along with details on how you can go and support these wonderful photographers).
The Grand Prizes – Helicopter Field Days with Mirjam
For our grand prizes, anyone that donates $100 or more is going to have a chance to win one of two separate field days with Mirjam flying around the Columbia and Canadian Rocky Mountains in a helicopter for a day assisting her at her study sites next spring (2020)! In fact, every $100 you donate gets you an additional ‘chance’ to win one of these field days, so donate $500 and you’ll get five entries. You’ll be able to snap pics and take videos, help Mirjam, and enjoy a stunning day that takes you to locations you’d never get to visit without a helicopter at your disposal!
A pair of wolverines investigating a study site 
A day in the field! 
Teamwork at a study site
These grand prizes will be based out of Golden, British Columbia and will include two nights accommodation at Mirjam’s B&B and a full day in the field via helicopter for you and a person of your choice. These prizes will also be transferable, so if you can’t make it and/or want to donate it to a friend or someone else, you will be able to.
Day in the Field with John Photographing Wildlife
The highest individual donor will get to choose between accompanying me in the field for a day of wildlife photography in BC or Alberta OR an Artist’s Proof of my Tall Tales, Long Lenses — Special Collector’s Edition (there are just 5 Artist’s Proofs in existence), which includes my Royal Canadian Mint silver coin and my Canada Post stamp, along with a limited edition print of Frank the Tank.
How to Donate
Note: All eligible donations will receive a charitable tax receipt from the University of Calgary via email or mail, including those made from outside Canada. The donation page should accept most foreign credit cards.
Donations from any country will be accepted and will be eligible to win the prizes we’ve had donated.
DONATE NOW: netcommunity.ucalgary.ca/wolverines
[After you donate, please send an email to johnemarriott@gmail.com to be eligible for the prizes, please include your contact information and which donation category you fall under: <$100, $100-199, $200-299, $300-399, etc. All information will be treated confidentially and won’t be shared or used beyond prize allocation]
The Prints
The following six prints will be donated by myself to be won by lucky donors (20″x30″ glossy, fine art, archival photographic prints):
Cai Priestley
Cai is a Welsh photographer that specializes in Canadian flora and fauna. You can support Cai directly on his website at https://www.caipriestley.co.uk/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/caipriestleyphotography/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/caipriestleyphotography/ (@caipriestleyphotography). His donated prints are five 20″x30″ semi-gloss/lustre fine art photo prints.
Colleen Gara
Colleen is a Calgary-based photographer that specializes in Canadian wildlife photography. You can support Colleen directly on her website at http://www.colleengaraphotography.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ColleenGaraPhotography/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/colleengaraphoto/ (@colleengaraphoto). Her donated prints are four (two of each) 16″x24″ fine art photo prints.
Brandon T. Brown
Brandon is a Canmore-based photographer that also specializes in Canadian wildlife photography. You can support Brandon directly on his website at https://brandontbrown.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WildCanadaPhoto/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/brandontbrown.ca/ (@brandontbrown.ca). He is donating a 20″x30″ archival rolled canvas.
Terry Bilton
Terry is a Fort McMurray-based photographer that also specializes in Canadian wildlife photography. You can support Terry’s photography directly on his website at https://www.terrybiltonphotography.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TerryBiltonPhotography/ and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/biltonco/ (@biltonco). Terry is donating three 16″x24″ lustre prints.
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone for donating to this amazing project. Our donated prizes will be awarded on May 1st, 2019 and all winners will be notified directly via email or phone. The donation period is from today until end of day on April 25th, 2019.
DONATE NOW: netcommunity.ucalgary.ca/wolverines
[After you donate, please send an email to johnemarriott@gmail.com to be eligible for the prizes, please include your contact information and which donation category you fall under: <$100, $100-199, $200-299, $300-399, etc. All information will be treated confidentially and won’t be shared or used beyond prize allocation]