Big News for BC Benefit Brew!
After debuting the Benefit Brew Goes Green campaign in 2019 we’ve decided to make the switch permanent. There are so many creative organizations all striving to reduce their environmental impact we wanted to seek out groups in BC and AB that we felt were making a real difference in their communities and brew a special beer for them with full proceeds ($10,000/each) to help support their efforts.
Although these one-off special release brews will be hitting shelves this summer, we wanted to get the word out now for the BC Winner since their campaign is coinciding with the upcoming Earth Day on April 22nd. We will be making a separate announcement on the AB Benefit Brew Winner in the coming weeks so stay tuned for that announcement.
Now without further ado, we’re thrilled to announce that the 2021 BC Benefit Brew winner is The Mountain Road Forest Campaign!
Mountain Road Forest is a labour of love amongst a wide swath of community partners all striving to preserve this important ecosystem on Vancouver Island. A local family has owned this almost 20-hectare(49-acre) forested property for nearly 50 years. Recognizing the ecological and community values of the property, the family has been pursuing a permanent conservation option for this urban forest for many years. Now, partnering with the Capital Regional District (CRD) and Habitat Acquisition Trust (HAT) the family has entered an agreement to sell the property so that it can be permanently designated an urban forest park as part of the CRD park system.
The family has resisted developers and other buyers who have wanted to sub-divide the property into exclusive forest residential lots. The family’s patriarch was an ardent conservationist who believed in the importance of setting habitat aside and protecting it from development and destruction. With only three owners since 1883, this property has been gently used over the decades. For the past 50 years, the current owners have allowed the community to access this property for the enjoyment of nature. Wide community support for the protection of these woods became evident with more than 800 donors stepping up to contribute to the fundraising campaign so far. The time to act is now as this property is the subject of an active real estate listing with developers waiting to buy it should fundraising efforts fall short and the purchase agreement with the CRD fail. We must raise the last $800,000 by Earth Day 2021 to complete the purchase of this property and protect it permanently.
Neil Young & Daryl Hannah have thrown their full support behind this campaign stating that “anyone interested in addressing Climate Change in earnest understands that true solutions to the crisis we face lie in embracing interconnectedness, generational thinking and planning for resilience. In order to truly do these things, it becomes clear that it is essential to prioritize conservation and protection of intact ecosystems on land and water bodies.” The Mountain Road Forest campaign presents the perfect opportunity for realizing all these crucial objectives while giving wildlife and locals the chance to enjoy this spectacular environment for many generations to come.
That’s why we’re pledging the full proceeds ($10,000) from the 2021 BC Benefit Brew now and hoping all of our nature and craft brewing friends out there might be able to join us in this important and time sensitive campaign. At present, 75% of funding has been secured but there’s still an $800,000 gap that needs to be fulfilled by Earth Day April 22nd.
We hope you will join us, the CRD, HAT, Neil Young and Daryl Hannah in spreading the word for this vital campaign so we can all celebrate when we reach our goal this Earth Day!
For more information and to donate please visit: https://www.mountainroadforest.ca/