Boreal forest
Credit: Valerie Courtois, Canadian Boreal Initiative

If you're a regular returner to this blog you are likely aware that while we support bird conservation in almost every instance, our particular focus and passion is the preservation of Canada's boreal forest. This (we think) is for good reason: the boreal is one of the world's largest and most important breeding grounds for migratory birds. Between 3 to 5 billion migrants--from raptors and waterfowl to shorebirds and songbirds--flood south out of the boreal every fall to find suitable wintering habitat. This winter habitat may be anywhere from the United States down to the southern part of South America.

But birds aren't the only ones who live in the boreal or benefit from its protection. Mammals of all sorts of shapes and sizes call the boreal home, including bear (brown and black), moose, caribou, beaver, wolf and wolverine. There are abundant populations of freshwater fish and, somewhat infamously, lots of insects. It's also home to more than 600 Aboriginal communities who have lived off the land for thousands of years.

Because the majority of Canada's boreal is rural and far to the north, it can be difficult for many to visit. So whenever we get the opportunity to hear from people who reside or spend significant time in the boreal, we should listen.

That's exactly what the Small Change Fund, a Canadian grassroots networking organization, wants us to do. They recently featured the boreal as one of their special campaigns. As part of this, they featured a special "Voices of the Boreal" teleconference with four distinguished and amazing guests to share their stories about the boreal and their work to better protect it. They also feature a special Action in the Boreal section where you can find ways to donate to or help individual causes within the boreal.

The four special guests of the teleconference are:

You can stream a replay of the teleconference here:

Voices of the Boreal - Live Discussion | Musicians Available