On July 9, the time has come - we're going on a conservation expedition in Canada's Western Arctic! As always, we will share the experiences and impressions of our adventure here with those of you who have stayed at home. A team from Germany will spend three weeks paddling down the Snake River together with youth and elders from the Gwich’in First Nation. This whitewater river winds its way through the Peel Watershed, a unique mountain wilderness—the northeastern foothills of the Rockies—the size of Austria. This area is the largest remaining intact mountain wilderness on Earth and is under acute threat from 14,000 registered claims by the oil and mining industries. The decision regarding whether to protect this natural gem or allow mining development is currently before the Supreme Court of Canada—an unprecedented case in the history of conservation. This project brings full circle our long-standing commitment to the Gwich’in in the Arctic, which began in 2007 with an initial exchange project and letters to the government of the Yukon Territory. Following in the footsteps of the millennia-old Arctic nomadic culture, we are exploring the traditional homeland of the Gwich’in. In the process, we are creating high-quality drone footage and other media content to share the beauty and inestimable value of untouched wilderness others. We will advocate for the sustainable, community-based benefits of ecotourism. For the protection of the spectacular Peel Watershed wilderness! We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who donated to our crowdfunding campaign or supported the project in other ways! You can follow our two-year journey leading up to the expedition through Jette’s blog posts from the Arctic winter: 5 months Arctic Further information and exciting background information: www.gofundme.com/youthprotectpeel https://www.wilderness-international.org/projekt-westarktis Our partners from CPAWS Yukon have a great online presence created for the project. Protect Peel Central Arctic Canada