A badger at the Osoyoos Desert Centre about to duck out of sight.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK / Osoyoos Desert Centre / Kerry Hilgen
July 28, 2025 - 5:00 AM
Here is your regularly scheduled reminder that the environment is falling apart, with a dose of data on what we’re collectively trying to do to help in the Thompson-Okanagan region.
It’s not all doom and gloom as governments, non-profits and even average folks are making a difference.
These are the numbers:
2.2: Billion dollars spent by the provincial government on climate initiatives in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
350,000: Dollars for water conservation projects through the Okanagan Basin Water Board this year.
30: Badgers are left in the Okanagan, so environmental groups are partnering with the government to save them.
25: Regional District of Central Okanagan parks were recognized as part of Canada's national conservation network.
80: Acres donated by an anonymous landowner were recently turned into a private conservation covenant in North Okanagan.
43: Wildlife act charges and 10 criminal charges were filed against a group of influencer poachers in the Southern Interior earlier this year.
6,041: Hectares of the Central Okanagan are considered sensitive ecosystems, the equivalent of 16,550 football fields.
25: Per cent of endangered vertebrates in Canada live in the Southern Interior.
3: Endangered butterfly species in the Okanagan-Similkameen region that are being defended by the Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society.
1.5: Million dollars in the environment planning and zoning budgeted this year by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
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