The “Three C’s” on our banner are more than words. They solidify into reality and action when people with similar views and interests reach out to us after reading them. This is what happened recently when Jennifer Harrington, a Toronto-based illustrator, writer and graphic designer introduced herself to us. Her collaboration with illustrator Michael Arnott on an eBook and animated short film versions of the The Spirit Bear and other stories is aimed at educating children about conservation while entertaining them at the same time.

Although sounding like a character out of Native American legend, the ghost or spirit bear actually

come from a small community of bears called Kermodes, which are a subspecies of black bears. Kermode bears may be black or white, but they all carry the recessive gene for white fur. 10% of Kermodes will fully express the recessive gene, and will be born with white or cream-coloured fur.

There are only 200 individual Kermodes on earth and they live exclusively in the British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest, the world’s largest remaining intact coastal temperate rainforest, covering an area of 70,000 square kilometres (27,000 square miles).

Partial proceeds from every ebook sale will go directly to organizations such as The Spirit Bear Youth Coalition that are working to protect the Great Bear Rainforest and other habitats of the animals in the story.

Click here to see more of naturalist Tim Irvin’s stunning wildlife photographs…