How would you describe your ideal environment?
My ideal environment doesn’t just include the conservation of fragile beauty, complex ecosystems, and sustainability. It also includes governing not focused on the politics of compromise, but on the politics of balance. Clearly, we are beginning to understand that we cannot have a healthy environment without a healthy economy and equally that we cannot have a healthy economy without a healthy environment. We know that businesses – to be profitable, to contribute to our economy – must meet their bottom lines.
In my ideal environment, we would equally appreciate that protecting 75% of the last, critical ecosystem of the spirit bear still leaves the bears with a 25% ecological deficit; the knowledge that innovative ideas exist that will allow for the right balance to be found in order to both protect 100% of the bears wilderness and still create viable, good jobs that will last generations.
What concerns you the most about the current state of the environment?
There are many major environmental issues facing our world today and most seem unstoppable and overwhelming. And of course these issues concern me. However, my greatest concern is the rapid loss of hope. Too many people are succumbing to the negative news we seem to be constantly bombarded by and their internal feeling of helplessness. As a result, more and more individuals give into apathy.
This must end if we are to truly create an ongoing political climate that demands meaningful action on the environment and works together to find new solutions to long staled debates. We must restore hope, and with hope, as a society, we will be able to create a truly sustainable world.
What or who inspires you to make a difference?
There are many people and many places that inspire. Dr. Jane Goodall is someone who has been both a mentor and a friend – and is someone who always provides me with inspiration. My family inspires me. The millions of young people who have dared to stand up and be counted on this issue inspire me. And, of course, the spirit bear and its remarkable wilderness inspires me.
In a time when few things in life are constant, one corner of the world offers a counter argument – the Land of the Spirit Bear. Shrouded in mist and mystery and encompassed by cathedrals of ancient trees and rivers bloody with salmon, it is a forgotten gem in a combed over world. And the sight of this ghostly white bear that haunts this rainforest ecosystem is both humbling and awe-inspiring. I feel so fortunate to have visited this untouched paradise and to have seen this stunning, threatened bear. And, for me, it is all about the spirit bear - on those dark days of the campaign trail, I always think of the bear to help me keep going and to remind me of why I do what I do.
What is your environmental credo?
The power of one. Anybody and everybody could have done what I’ve done for the spirit bear for any issue they believe in – whether it’s trying to protect a peregrine falcon’s nest in their neighborhood or trying to stop global warming, there are simply no insignificant endeavors.
Every time someone stands up to act to improve the lot of others, they are helping to create a better world. I was driven by my passion and the good fortune of knowing from an early age that I could succeed. And if together we can succeed in saving the spirit bear, we will have succeeded in something far greater: we will have been able to prove that anyone with passion can take hold of a cause and unite the world.
What is the one thing you wish others would do to help improve the environment?
I deeply wish that everyone in society, but most especially young people, would realize the profound impact they have on our world each and everyday. Every decision, every action has consequences – some big, some small; some good, some bad. The simple act of turning off a light to save energy or taking five minutes to write an elected official to give a voice to an endangered animal can alter the course of our world.
For years, students would approach me and say, “Simon, I’m only one person, while I agree with saving the spirit bear, if I don’t bother to write a letter, it won’t really matter.” And to that I would always answer: you’re wrong! If you don’t make your voice heard, then policy makers assume what they are doing is right. But imagine if every person said: “Yes, I can make a difference, I will do my part, I will make my voice heard!”, then think of the possibilities.
Twenty-five thousand letters made their way into the BC Premier’s office in the months leading up to our first land-use agreement in 2001. It was one of those letters that the Premier finally picked up and said: “What are we going to do about the spirit bear?” It was one person who put the issue over the top but it took all 24, 999 letters to make that one letter count. That is the opportunity every individual has – no matter their age – to aid the environment.
Any final words?
I believe that we must illustrate that the greatest sin is not trying and that by trying, together - as one voice - our dreams are possible and our missions are most certainly winnable. Youth can be the voice of the environment, of the bears. It is our most important endeavor and our greatest tool for a better tomorrow. For me, it begins by saving this undeniably, irreplaceable bear and I have hope that together we can and we will save our spirit bear and create a better world for all life for generation after generation after generation.
Tags: D. Simon Jackson, eco-celebrities, media, spirit bear, youth making a difference
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Simon Jackson, 25, founded the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition (SBYC) at the age of 13 in the quest to unite the voice of young people to save British Columbia’s endangered white Kermode (spirit) bear. Through SBYC, Jackson has helped to raise international awareness about the plight of the spirit bear –making the issue the most supported conservation initiative in Canadian history. It was also recognized by Time Magazine as one of the most critical environmental issues facing our planet. Jackson gained the support of such high profile figures as Dr. Jane Goodall, J.K. Rowling, and the Backstreet Boys in the process. That helped make the SBYC the world’s largest youth-run environmental organization with a global network of more than 6 million in over 65 countries.
Today, two-thirds of the spirit bear’s remaining intact habitat has been set aside for protection through the largest land protection measure in North American history, while one third remains threatened. To help protect the habitat, Jackson helped co-found Helade Productions to produce, along with the same team responsible for the Lion King, a major Hollywood CGI animated movie – The Spirit Bear – slated for worldwide theatrical release. For his efforts, Jackson has been honoured with numerous awards, most notably being selected as one of Time Magazine’s 60 Heroes for the Planet – one of only six young people from around the world. His life’s work was the inspiration for a movie of the week – Spirit Bear: The Simon Jackson Story. Jackson remains the full-time volunteer Chairman of SBYC in addition to his role as Executive Producer of The Spirit Bear, Principal of Jackson Strategies, and member of several boards and advisory committees relating to sustainability and youth engagement.
