Hancock Wildlife Foundation (HWF) is not just about live streaming video cameras for the public to watch. We're far more than that. Through the Foundation's work the public in general and school-age children in particular have learned and continue to learn about conservation and what it means to the actual birds, fish and animals of our planet. We sponsor and produce education initiatives and do research into conservation issues, and continue to work with government and industry in the preservation of wildlife habitat and integration of our industrialized society into the lives of wildlife that surround us.
David Hancock has been a leader in the conservation efforts around the Pacific North West for in excess of 40 years. Until recently his publishing business, Hancock House Publishers, has funded most of his research and conservation efforts including raising grouse, ptarmigan, sandhill cranes and other bird species for re-introduction into areas where they have been depleted. Over the years he has given lectures to tens of thousands of children and adults, sometimes accompanied by various of his animals including at times a cougar and a bald eagle with one wing, both of which were rescued by him.
In 2006, when the Hornby Island eagle nest camera was first put online, he realized that in the space of a single week this new network phenomenon had reached and touched more people than he had lectured and taught over his whole career, and he changed the focus of his work, including creating this foundation.
The fact is that the Foundation's work has continued to be largely funded by Hancock House Publishers and David himself, but that cannot continue, and certainly can't cover the projects we've been asked to take on. The work we do has grown beyond what this one person can possibly self-fund. David had not ever had to go cap in hand to funding agencies to help him in his work but now we must. Hancock House continues to help the Foundation in many ways, from donating staff time to helping in the Foundation's own publishing endeavors and giving it a huge portion of book sales we generate through our website (if you put the comment on the order form that you heard about the book from the Foundation).
Our project list, just to keep the cameras going, requires well in excess of $100,000 for the next season, and if we are to see our major project, the live streaming video production center, come to be in any meaningful way we will need several times this amount just in capital equipment.
We are applying to various funding agencies for grants and other help, but these take time and a lot of effort. In the mean time you, the general public who come to our web site, can help tremendously and will in return get a tax receipt (for Canadian tax and soon for US).
On another note, we and our viewers would like to remove the commercial advertising from our web site. We know the ad servers sometimes bring in ads that are not in keeping with our Foundation's mandate but there is little we can do other than react when one shows up and add it to the "black list" at Google. We would much rather show specific sponsor ads and recognition. If your company or organization would like to show its support for the Foundation's work, please contact us. We have several ways of showing such support and the amount needed to offset removal of the commercial ads is not all that great.
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Thank you for visiting us - and thank you for continuing to support us Richard C. Pitt
How To DonateA big thank you to all donors.
All donations will be acknowledged with a receipt.
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Last Updated Monday, April 05 2010 @ 08:49 PM EDT 
