PAW of Achievement

How did Sparta end up with two mounted polar bears? In 2009, Sparta was selected as a planting site for the Polar Bear Forest initiative, resulting in over $28,000 of donations raised by the chapters of the American Association of Zoo Keepers. The goal of the project is the combating of climate change that is affecting the territories where polar bears are found.

The reason Sparta, WI was selected was due in large part to the efforts of high school students involved with the Earth Club and their advisor, Joe Cook, but also because of the leadership of DNR representative Patricia Murphy and then Public Works Administrator, Jordan Skiff. A select team of three students took part in a CO2-reducing Project Polar Bear contest in 2010, becoming one of the four finalist teams that traveled to San Diego, CA. They built upon the recycling initiative, started by the club, and expanded the operation, as well as instituted a combined operation with the City of Sparta and 108 citizen volunteers to help plant 100 of the approximately 600 trees that were purchased with the seed money from PBI.

Most recently, the Earth Club has continued to build partnerships with Century Foods International, from which they receive weekly bags of aluminum cans, Carlisle Sanitary Maintenance Corporation, where shrink wrap and wooden pallets are harvested weekly, as well as maintaining their efforts around Sparta High. In November of 2012, the Club won the My Planet/My Part contest, sponsored by Polar Bears International and are very happy with their continued efforts, as well as those of the other teams that competed. To the Earth Club it is all about working together to achieve a common goal.

So why the bears in Sparta? About two months ago while in Cable, Wisconsin, Joe Cook was on a weekend getaway with his wife, Katie, and two other couples. Stopping by the Cable Natural History Museum late on that Saturday afternoon, he was provided at tour of the special collections and inventory room by the museum worker on duty. Emily indicated that the museum had recently acquired the wildlife collection from the Wildlife Museum of Hayward, WI and that in that collection were two polar bear mounts.

From that initial contact, Joe was in constant telephone and email communication with the museum personnel, working out the logistics of transportation, locations in Sparta, display possibilities, the work force to get the job done, and the like. It turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for the conservation minded Earth Club members to further their message of saving polar bears in the wild.

After talking through the particulars over many weeks, the bears finally arrived in Sparta! Enlisting the voluntary aid of Jim Cook, Joe's father, and two close family friends, Gerald Kast and Al Jenkins, the four of them brought the bears to their new home on Tuesday, April 2nd. Since that time, the three horsemen, comprised of Gerald, Al and Jim, have been recreating the displays and making the two mounts, located at the Sparta Chamber of Commerce and Century Foods International, public viewing ready. "Without these three guys who are also working on the bridge in Evans-Bosshard Park, this project would not be anywhere near this point," said Joe.

While the bears are on temporary loan to the Sparta Chamber of Commerce and Century Foods, the longevity of the situation is guaranteed and will only need to be revisited with minor paper work each year. The opportunity to have the 1960's era mounts allows the Earth Club and their partners-the Sparta Chamber of Commerce and Century Foods-to instill  in our community and businesses that we all have a part to play in protecting this iconic species of the far north, and that by working together to reduce our carbon footprint, we will ensure that this magnificent animal will not disappear from the wild. The network of communication, outreach and teamwork that exists between the Chamber and Century, Polar Bears International, the Sparta community, and the Earth Club will make this a reality in our neck of the woods.