Dax Dasilva protested the logging of old-growth forests in Clayoquot Sound as a teenager. Now, as an adult and tech entrepreneur, he’s monetarily supporting his “deep-rooted connections to B.C. landscapes” through a $14.5 million donation to the BC Parks Foundation. The gift is being delivered by the Dasilva-founded non-profit Age of Union, which acts to support environmental activists. 

Dasilva stayed local for school, wrapping up his studies at UBC in 1999 before moving to Montreal—where he currently lives—and founding Lightspeed Commerce. Dasilva was the ecommerce software company’s CEO until last month, when he moved into an executive chair capacity. Now, as a two-time founder, he’s giving back to his home province. 

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Why it matters: The BC Parks Foundation is touting the gift as the single largest donation in its history and one of the largest for conservation efforts province-wide. Age of Union’s support will go towards the protection of key BC ecosystems, which house thousands of individual plant and animal species. The survival of these ecosystems is key to resisting climate change.

No gift receipt needed: Specifically, a portion of the gift will go to two ecosystems. The first is the Pitt River Watershed, which acts as a habitat for salmon, elk and other wildlife. The watershed is in Katzie First Nation territory, north of Pitt Meadows. 

The second ecosystem is the French Creek Estuary, a key habitat for thousands of eagles and 180 other species, including 19 species at risk. The estuary is in Qualicum and Snaw-naw-as Nation territories northwest of Parksville on Vancouver Island. 

The Age of Union Alliance and BC Parks Foundation will announce other locations in the near future.

The card in the gift bag: “It’s incredibly important for me to see through necessary conservation work to protect the province’s precious land. With these funds, we hope to preserve this land for generations to come and inspire others to take similar action both locally and around the world,” Dasilva said in a release.

The thank you note: “We are incredibly grateful to Dax Dasilva and his team at Age of Union for this landmark gift supporting our work to keep British Columbia beautiful,” Andrew Day, CEO of the BC Parks Foundation, said in a statement. “Age of Union is inspiring and joining tens of thousands of British Columbians and our supporters from around the world in creating sanctuaries for threatened wildlife, combating climate change, and improving human health. This historic gift is great cause for everyone to celebrate.”

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