Testing the bond
August 25, 2010 – 9:53 PM CDT
We saw Lily’s bond with Hope tested again today when Lily encountered another bear. Lily was constantly giving the sweet grunts that mean concern for a cub. Lily did not abandon Hope as she did when June came near back in May. Instead, she made the long, threatening nose toward the bear while Hope watched (photo). Anyone who saw them together these days would never guess the history that we all have followed. Their relationship seems the same as other mothers with cubs.
As the St Paul Lilypadders, Northeast Lily Lovers, and others boosted NABC donations to over $377,000, Bear Head Lake State Park’s lead in the Coca-Cola Parks contest stretched to nearly 560,000 votes showing the power of Lily’s fans in helping the area where these radio-collared bears live. With the lead in the Coca-Cola Parks contest so strong that no park can surpass it in the 6 days remaining, a bigger test is upon us.
Kohl’s Cares is giving $500,000 to the top 20 vote-getters among the nation’s schools. You each have 20 votes and can use a maximum of 5 per school. Ely’s two schools are Washington Elementary School and Memorial Secondary School. The links to vote 5 times for each Ely school are:
Washington Elementary School http://apps.facebook.com/KohlsCares/school/503391/washington-elementary
Memorial High School http://apps.facebook.com/KohlsCares/school/503401/memorial-secondary
Making these schools winners will take a miracle that we believe only Lily’s fans can pull off at this late date. Voting closes September 4, and these schools are each about 44,000 votes away from 20th place. The top 20 schools each get a half million. If you put these two schools into the top 20, the Ely school system would get a million dollars.
What would this mean to Lily and Hope and the radio-collared bears? It would show the community the importance of protecting these radio-collared bears not only for science and education but for what they bring to the region. The expanded educational programs brought to them by the voting power of Lily’s fans would certainly include the Education Outreach Program that Lily’s fans are developing. According to Ely’s Superintendent of Schools Don Langen, the money would be spent to:
- Update our computer network and student work stations to fully utilize high speed broadband curricular materials and opportunities.
- Develop a high school curriculum in concert with higher education partners in the area of applied technical sciences with a focus on environmental topics.
- Design an environmental and life science laboratory specifically geared to the needs of middle school students.
With only 10 days of voting left, I don’t know if we can muster the votes to place each school in the top 20. Doing so would certainly put Lily and Hope on the local radar and let everyone know the value of these research bears now when hunting season is about to begin on September 1.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center