Lights, Camera, Nature: B.C. Motion Picture Industry Funds 7 New Park Projects

The fourth annual REEL Earth Day Challenge has raised $100,000 toward projects delivered through Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Foundation. Since 2021, the annual BC film industry fundraiser for parks and greenspaces has raised over $473,000.

“Creative BC’s Reel Green™ initiative is again proud to support the fourth annual REEL Earth Day Challenge that helps to restore and protect the Metro Vancouver regional parks,” said Prem Gill, CEO of Creative BC. “Our parks hold special significance for our motion picture industry community. The industry recognizes the privilege and responsibility that comes with using regional parks and aims to leave them better each time they are used, ensuring a lasting positive impact on the places where we live, work, and play.”

All donations raised this year go directly to support park projects and community-based initiatives, such as the Indigenous-led free summer camps, restoration and replanting, and aquatic habitat enhancements.

“This year, Creative BC’s annual REEL Earth Day Challenge has helped us fund priority projects to restore nature and enhance public enjoyment at regional parks. We are truly grateful that the film industry continues to choose to support our regional parks, which provide valuable outdoor space in a growing and densifying region,” said John McEwen, Chair of Metro Vancouver’s Regional Parks Committee. “In addition to being great places to relax and connect with nature, our parks host dozens of television and film shoots every year, supporting the local economy and bolstering the region’s reputation as a premier destination for media production.”

The REEL Earth Day Challenge also encourages wider efforts to engage First Nation community members in telling their stories by funding public programs that offer visitors a deeper understanding of Indigenous culture and connection to the land. These programs also encourage reflection on truth and reconciliation while emphasizing the importance of nature in Indigenous traditions.

“The campaign focuses not just on nurturing nature and wildlife within the regional parks but also amplifying the voices of Indigenous peoples who have shaped and cared for these lands for countless generations,” said Mark van der Zalm, President of Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Foundation. “The REEL Earth Day Challenge played a crucial role in expediting this work and honouring First Nations in the region.”

Specific projects funded include floodgate and salmon research in ??éx?t?m Regional Park (Formerly known as Colony Farm Regional Park); restoration of Grand Fir trails in Pacific Spirit Regional Park; reforestation maintenance in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park; Indigenous-led summer camps in various regional parks; sedge field restoration in Aldergrove Regional Park; and creating a pond that will serve as a biodiversity oasis in Campbell Valley Regional Park.

“This new funding will have a huge impact on regional parks,” said van der Zalm. “We couldn’t be happier or more grateful to be working with the BC film industry on the REEL Earth Day Challenge.”

For more information on the REEL Earth Day Challenge and the projects it funds, visit reelearthdaychallenge.ca.

Media Contacts:
Lisa Escudero
Creative BC
media@creativebc.com
604-730-2235

Rachelle McBride
Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Foundation
rachelle@mvrpfoundation.ca
778-900-1084

Metro Vancouver Media Relations
media@metrovancouver.org

About Creative BC
Creative BC is an independent society created and supported by the Province to sustain and help grow British Columbia’s creative industries: motion picture, interactive and digital media, music and sound recording, and magazine and book publishing. The society delivers a wide range of programs and services with a mandate to expand B.C.’s creative economy. These activities include: administration of the provincial government’s motion picture tax credit programs; delivery of program funding and export marketing support for the sector; and provincial film commission services. Combined, these activities serve to attract inward investment and market B.C. as a partner and destination of choice for domestic and international content creation. The society acts as an industry catalyst and ambassador to help B.C.’s creative sector reach its economic, social, environmental and creative potential both at home and globally. Website: creativebc.com | reelgreen.ca

About Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Foundation
Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Foundation is the only registered charity dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of Metro Vancouver’s regional parks. The Foundation provides the additional financial support needed to realize special projects and initiatives that fall outside of what public park funding is able to provide and depends on people who love our parks and who care about stewarding these precious ecological treasures for future generations. Website: mvrpfoundation.ca