On a warm June afternoon, 5-year-old Kirby carefully set up a popsicle stand in her front yard. With hand-decorated signs and a big goal in mind, she was ready for business. But unlike most children her age, Kirby wasn’t hoping to buy a new toy or to fill up her piggy bank. Just weeks earlier, she had learned that Washington State is home to a genetically unique and critically threatened population of pygmy rabbits, and decided she wanted to help.
One $0.50 popsicle at a time, Kirby set out to make a difference.
Sometimes conservation begins with years of scientific research, habitat restoration, policy debate, and partnerships. And sometimes, it begins with a little girl selling popsicles.
When we heard her story, and received her cash donation, the entire team here at Conservation Northwest was inspired.
To recognize her incredible generosity and love for our pygmy rabbit friends, we invited Kirby and her mom, April, to join us for a very special day in the field alongside our partners at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
Together with WDFW pygmy rabbit biologists, Kirby and April visited one of the protected pygmy rabbit enclosures near Ephrata, Washington. Here, dedicated teams are helping the species recover after its population collapsed to just a few dozen individuals in the early 2000s. Today, this active conservation and collaboration have resulted in the population rebounding to more than 150 rabbits.
Kirby had the opportunity to see firsthand what wildlife conservation looks like in practice and learned how donations like hers help support pygmy rabbit recovery. She stood alongside pygmy rabbit biologists carefully surveying rabbit burrows, monitoring the population, and safely handling young rabbits for health checks and vaccinations before returning them to their protected habitat.
Experiences like this are possible because of the ongoing collaboration between Conservation Northwest and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Through our Sagelands Heritage Program, Conservation Northwest partners to restore shrub-steppe habitat, addressing threats such as invasive species, fragmentation, and habitat loss that continue to challenge pygmy rabbit recovery.
Protecting Washington’s pygmy rabbits require careful population monitoring, research, conservation breeding and release efforts, and long-term stewardship of the shrub-steppe ecosystems these tiny but remarkable animals call home.
This story is about more than Washington’s pygmy rabbit recovery. It’s about hope.
One young girl saw a problem and asked herself, “What can I do?” Her answer wasn’t complicated. She sold popsicles. She gave what she could. And her small act of kindness created something much bigger than the act itself.
Her generosity and passion inspired others and reminded us why conservation depends on people who care enough to act. No matter how small the person or the action.
The next generation of wildland and wildlife advocates are already here. Conservation is built one person, one partnership, and one act of kindness at a time.
To our new friend, Kirby, thank you for reminding us that some of the biggest impacts can begin with the smallest ideas.
Just like Washington’s smallest rabbit.
