WILD Chronology
From left to right, Robin and Ian, WILD mappers, looking at map of threatened areas in Brazil made at the Hawaii conference. Photo credit: J.P. LeFRANK
September/87- Adriane Carr and Paul George, two Western Canada Wilderness Committee directors, attend the Fourth World Wilderness Congress conference in Denver, Colorado. A presentation of a world wilderness inventory by Michael McClorky of the Sierra Club revealed the need to identify and map in greater detail the world's remaining natural ecosystems.
October/88- The idea of a global wilderness campaign is developed in a small meeting of environmentalists in WCWC's Vancouver, BC, Canada office.
December/88- The name WILD--Wilderness is the Last Dream, is chosen for the international mapping campaign by its four founders: Adriane Carr, college geography instructor and WCWC director, Sue Fox Gregory, graphic artist, president of Silver Quill graphics, and director of City Farmer, Sunny Lewis, environmental journalist (later the founder of ENS- Environment News Service), and Starlet Lum, environmental activist.
April/89- WCWC publishes its first educational newspaper on a wilderness issue outside of Canada-Canadians Vow to help Save the Amazon Rainforest. WCWC hosts a fundraising event for Paiakan of the Amazon Kaiapo natives and raises $12,000.
September/89- WILD responds to the urgent plea from the Canadian environmentalist Thorn Henley, to become involved in helping the Penan natives save their Borneo tropical rainforest home. Within three weeks, WILD publishes a newspaper and poster on Sarawak and hosts a fundraising event.
September-November/89- WILD develops a computer data base of over 2,000 names of research institutes, government agencies, environmental organizations, native groups and individuals with expertise regarding Earth's remaining natural ecosystems.
November/89- WILD sends WCWC director Ken Lay to deliver relief funds and director Dr. Ron Aspinall to conduct as assessment of the health problems in the Penan resettlement villages.
November/89- WILD publishes 16 different full-color greeting cards featuring paintings depicting tropical rainforests produced by Vancouver's Technical School art students.
December/89- WILD mails out its first questionnaire, asking for definitions of wilderness and information on wilderness maps, wilderness "hotspots" and conservation campaigns.
June/90- WILD co-hosts its first international conference with Kumu Honua-The Hawaiian Archipelago Wilderness Society.
September/90- WILD publishes its first book, Penan: Voice for the Borneo Rainforest, co-authored by Dr. Wade Davis and Thorn Henley.
October-November/90- WILD publishes its second educational newspaper about Sarawak--Save the Borneo Rainforest and helps organize world tour of three Sarawak natives: Voices for the Borneo Rainforest.
November/90- WILD co-publishes newspaper with the Steelhead society of BC--Help Stop James Bay II and Kemano II: Two proposed Nature-destroying Hydroelectric Mega-projects.
November/90- WILD publishes Inukshuk- Stewardship form Sea to Sea to Sea fine art poster by Ken Kirkby, and greeting cards with the same image at James Bay II-Kemano II fundraisers.
January/91- WILD co-publishes a newspaper with Tatshenshini WILD- Tatshenshini: North America's Wildest River Threatened.
January/91- WILD receives a grant from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to mount its first regional conference to map and gather examples of sustainable land uses for the remaining natural ecosystems in Latin America.
