VICTORIA -- Vancouver-born film star Ryan Reynolds makes no secret of his love for his home province and is known for lending his considerable star power to charitable issues in and around B.C.
Now the Deadpool actor is helping a Victoria-based conservation group shine a spotlight on preserving B.C.'s Great Bear Rainforest.
Reynolds has pledged to match all donations to Pacific Wild, up to $50,000, from now until Aug. 3 – which happens to be B.C. Day – as part of the online #MakeRyanPay campaign.
Reynolds, in a video posted on the non-profit's website, calls Pacific Wild "one of the greatest environmental organizations protecting the lands and the waters of the Great Bear Rainforest."
"This matching challenge is to help raise money for the critical conservation work being done by my friends at Pacific Wild," the actor says. "I guess it's kind of my way to help ensure that the rainforests that I grew up with as a kid are still going to be there – wild and unique and in the world for my kids and for hopefully their kids too."
By Friday morning, the campaign had reached 67 per cent of its $50,000 goal.
Not a fan of Reynolds's work? Not a problem, the actor says.
"Here's the best part. If you've ever panned one of my movies or hated one of my movies, then this is your chance for revenge – make me pay for it."
Pacific Wild says the matched donations will help the group achieve "lasting conservation protections for the lands and waters of B.C.'s Great Bear Rainforest and beyond."
The Great Bear Rainforest spans 6.4 million hectares of the province's north and central coast and is the exclusive home of the rare and elusive all-white Kermode bear, or Spirit Bear.
