Wishes Become Fishes: The Wishing Tree Brings Its Magic to Whistler for the Holiday Season

Since 2023, every wish made at the Wishing Tree has unlocked a $10 donation to land protection across BC, supporting the goal of protecting 30% of the province by 2030.

In three years, more than 20,000 wishes have been shared and over $200,000 raised. As the Wishing Tree heads to Whistler for the holiday season, we’re celebrating the thousands of wishes that have already come true thanks to an incredible community of supporters.

Here are five real wishes, made by British Columbians and brought to life by people like you—people who love BC and want to keep it beautiful.

This wish is at the heart of what supporters across BC have helped make possible. Over the past year alone, 25 new properties—8,300 acres—have been protected, contributing to a total of 82 sites and more than 403,000 acres secured forever.

These places include habitat for the endangered western painted turtle, old-growth forests, grasslands that host more than 30% of BC’s threatened species, and salmon-bearing waters that sustain wildlife and communities alike. Each project is made possible through donor generosity and by working together with local communities and First Nations.

In parallel, the BC Conservation Fund provides reliable, long-term funding for priority biodiversity work across the province, supporting conservation where it’s most needed and complementing site-specific protection with ongoing action. You can read about the amazing projects unfolding now across BC here.

That wish is taking root through Learning by Nature, an ambitious new program transforming schoolyards across BC with Nature Parks: vibrant, living green spaces designed to support student well-being, biodiversity, and outdoor learning.

Right now, six Nature Parks are being co-designed by schools across the province, and they'll break ground in 2026 through a unique partnership between BC Parks Foundation, the Province of BC, and the Government of Canada.

By 2030, our goal is that every school in the province will feature a Nature Park that also connects to a sister park or protected area, linking daily learning to BC’s broader network of wild places.

Meanwhile, more than 100 student-led projects, funded through Learning by Nature grants, are already underway. Students are creating pollinator gardens, installing bird boxes, and launching biodiversity monitoring programs—turning their schoolyards into living laboratories.

BC Parks Foundation recognized that when people experience the wellbeing benefits of nature firsthand, they become more likely to protect it. That idea led to the creation of PaRx, Canada’s national nature prescription program.

Since its launch, over 20,000 healthcare providers have now prescribed an estimated 1.5 million doses of time outdoors, helping transform the idea of nature as medicine into a mainstream practice. Supported by donors and partners like Manulife, PaRx is now recognized by the World Health Organization and endorsed by the Canadian Medical Association.

Research consistently shows that time in nature reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and improves mental health. By helping people experience those benefits, PaRx builds a culture that values both personal and planetary health. 

You can read more about the lives transformed through nature prescriptions here.

That wish came true in the Upper Pitt River watershed, where the Katzie First Nation has led salmon-habitat restoration for decades. Once, Red Slough was cut off from Pitt Lake—the largest freshwater tidal lake in the world—leaving hundreds of hectares of prime spawning grounds stagnant and low in oxygen.

In 2021, the BC Parks Foundation purchased and protected 295 hectares in the watershed, including Red Slough, with a major donation from Dax Dasilva and Age of Union. That protection gave momentum to the Katzie’s ongoing work, allowing partners to restore natural water flow for the first time in a century.

The project—one of the largest salmon restoration efforts in Western Canada—has brought together Katzie Guardians, BC Parks Foundation, Age of Union, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance, WWF Canada, and other community partners.

When the water began to move again, coho and sockeye returned to Red Slough for the first time in living memory.

Protecting land is only the first step; caring for it is what keeps it thriving. Across BC, volunteers, youth, and local organizations are taking on that work together.

At West Ballenas Island, Coastal Caretakers have spent hundreds of hours rerouting trails and removing ivy and blackberry to protect rare coastal plants. In the Cowichan River watershed, members of the Quw’utsun Cultural Connections Society are blending cultural learning with stewardship, teaching youth to clear invasive Scotch broom and restore cedar ecosystems. And at Morrison Headwaters, Youth Climate Corps participants removed 270 kilograms of invasive plants, helping native species reclaim the forest floor.

These small, steady actions are what turn protection into lasting care. They connect people more deeply to the land and show why stewardship—performed by many hands over time—is essential to keeping these places healthy for generations to come.

Every wish made at the Wishing Tree helps fund work like this: protecting habitats, restoring ecosystems, and creating opportunities for people to connect with nature.

When you make a wish, you make a difference.

Make a Wish Now.