Squamish's Shaun Stephens-Whale has done a lot of interesting things in his life—he loves to race-climb towers, like the Eiffel Tower, for example, and he co-owns a ninja gym—but yesterday was his first time putting a giant panda, lion, kingfisher and bear through their paces.
Stephens-Whale was in Vancouver with the World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) on March 4, to hold a mock stair climb competition between mascots—BC Lions’ Leo the Lion, Vancouver Whitecaps’ Spike the Belted Kingfisher, and Vancouver Canadians’ Bob Brown Bear on the steps of BC Place.
"Definitely a first for me," Stephens-Whale said with a chuckle when reached by phone on Wednesday.
"That was fun. I can throw that on the resume for sure."
The event promotes WWF-Canada's second annual Climb for Nature fundraising stair climb set for BC Place on May 10.
The climb is open to nature lovers of all ages across B.C.
Those who can't make it into the city in May can also register for a self-directed climb starting in April from wherever they are.
The end goal is to raise awareness and funds for the conservation work of the organization—including its advocacy work for endangered southern resident killer whales, of which there are only 73 left in the wild.
In January, WWF-Canada, along with the David Suzuki Foundation, Georgia Strait Alliance, Living Oceans Society, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, took legal action aiming to compel the federal government to act to do more to save southern resident killer whales.
The legal action calls for an emergency order by Cabinet to "take proactive, comprehensive measures to protect and recover" this species at risk.
Stephens-Whale says he got involved with WWF back in 2018, when he did the CN Tower stair climb.
This year’s climb is also being held in Toronto at the CN Tower (on April 5 and 6).
Stephens-Whale holds the event's record for finishing the CN climb in under 10 minutes.
(The overall record for climbing the CN Tower was set in 1989 by Brendan Keenoy, who finished it in 7:52.)
“I think it's neat to be able to support a cause I really believe in while doing something I'm passionate about," Stephens-Whale said.
He added that the BC Place event, which he completed last year, is quite different from a tower climb in that participants are running up and down the stairs.
It is a very accessible event for most folks, he said.
"I would equate it more to interval training ... like a CrossFit workout, where you're pushing really hard, but then you've got the breaks," he said.
"It's cool. They have got the music pumped in, people are cheering."
For Stephens-Whale, while donating to a good cause is great, doing an athletic event that helps an environmental cause is even more impactful.
"What [WWF-Canada does], their ecological restoration as well as sustainability, is amazing. They're looking to restore a million hectares, which is 2,500 Stanley Parks. What they're doing for the resident killer orcas, as well as the salmon population, is fantastic. We need that advocacy," he said. "When you just give money, there's a certain detachment. When you do an event like this, it's more visceral."
To learn more or register, go to wwf.ca/bcplace.
Event details:
•Participants can climb the stadium steps of BC Place as an individual or with a team.
•Adults have a registration fee of $20 and a minimum fundraising amount of $50.
•Registration for kids and youth is $10, with a minimum fundraising requirement of $30.
(Read about WWF's Charity Intelligence score.)
