More than 5,500 people made the challenging journey up Toronto’s CN Tower on Saturday and Sunday as part of the World Wildlife Fund–Canada’s CN Tower Climb for Nature fundraiser. With support from more than 26,000 donors, sponsors and volunteers, the climbers raised a record C$1.53 million and counting (about U.S. $1.11 million) for efforts to protect and restore nature, reverse wildlife loss, and fight climate change.
“This is the most funds raised in the CN Tower Climb for Nature’s 32-year history, which is a testament to how deeply people care about nature and wildlife,” said Megan Leslie, WWF-Canada president and chief executive officer, who also climbed the iconic tower alongside supporters.
WWF-Canada’s most significant fundraising event, the Climb for Nature raises more than C$1 million (about U.S. $725,000) annually to protect habitats and species across Canada and around the world. Since the first climb in 1991, people have climbed the iconic communications and observation tower, built by the Canadian National Railway Company and completed in 1976, more than 140,000 times and helped deliver big conservation results.
“There is a lot of dark stuff happening out there,” said Megan Leslie. “We know there’s biodiversity loss and climate change. But we also know what the solutions are—and everybody who climbed with us, they know that, too. And they are part of the solution. One step at a time, one foot in front of the other, they are helping us climb towards a brighter future.”
This time the average finish time up the 1,776 steps of the tower was around 30 minutes, with the most competitive climbers racing up the steps during Sunday morning’s Elite Climb Challenge. The fastest climbers in their categories were Lisa Nagy from Guelph, Ontario, at 13 minutes 4 seconds, and Tyler Kruschenske at 10 minutes 56 seconds. This was the first win for Nagy and fifth for Kruschenske, an obstacle course racer from Brantford, Ontario.
Others who climbed the tower’s 144 flights of stairs on the weekend included former ice hockey star Mikhail Grabovski; Doug Dorsey, who made his 31st ascent and topped the fundraising leaderboard; Hassan Mirzahosseini, an athlete and leg amputee who climbed for the second time in 24:41; Esther Berman, a blind climber from Ottawa who climbed in an incredible 23:38; and a grandfather and grandson duo who competed together in the Elite Climb.
The WWF Climb for Nature continues on May 26 as it goes national with its Vancouver debut at BC Place Stadium. Registration is open at wwf.ca/bcplace.
Source: PR Newswire
