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The latest news: conservation headlines, updates from The Big Wild online community and whatever else drives us wild.  

  • No More Butts On Our Shores Sep 02, 2010
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    If you started to walk the length of Canada’s coastlines from the Strait of Juan du Fuca on the West Coast to the Bay of Fundy on the east coast, covering 20 kilometres a day, you would complete your journey in a little less than 33 years.  That's a remarkably long time to cover the whole of Canada’s coastlines, especially compared to how long it takes to cross the country on foot. At 5,000 kilometres from coast to coast, you could walk across Canada in a little under a year. Then again, when you consider how many fjords, bays, inlets, and ice packs you’d have to cover along our country’s coastlines, 33 years sounds a little more believable. Now consider the time and effort it would take to keep these coastlines clean from human litter.
     
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  • CBC Covers the Peel Watershed Aug 25, 2010
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    The Peel Watershed is the latest wilderness we're featuring on The Big Wild and, incidentally, the CBC North. Laurie Edward, community programs manager with Mountain Equipment Co-op, recently spoke on air about the importance of the Peel watershed and what it's protection would mean to paddler enthusiasts and Canadians across the country.
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  • Thinking About the World's Water Aug 25, 2010
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    World Rivers Day is coming up in late September, so we're thinking about water around The Big Wild offices. As that cliche goes, "the next war won't be fought over oil, it'll be fought over water".
     
    So where exactly are the world's water resources? Who has too much, and who doesn't have enough? To answer these questions, we turned to the excellent University of Sheffield resource Worldmapper. They revisualize maps of the Earth based on a particular factor, and create some great educational resources.
     
    We explored the site, and found a handful of great maps for water resources. In each case you can click the map to view a larger version of it.
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  • Online, Offline and Walking the Line Aug 19, 2010
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    For The Big Wild, much of the conservation work we do takes place online. We can better connect Canadians across the country to specific wilderness locations in need of protection and highlight these areas using videos, infographics, soccer brackets and other tools. So it’s always a treat to hear how our campaign partners are connecting offline. Enter aboriginal leaders, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Lower Athabasca in Northern Alberta.
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  • Lens Flare and Landscape Aug 11, 2010
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    Peter Mather is the photographer who captured the image of kayakers on the Snake River in the Yukon for our Peel campaign. Peter travels to Canada's National Parks and photographs different scenes, often ones that suggest movement and kinetic energy in nature. He has an incredible collection of photographs which you can see online here. Below are a handful of our favourite shots, many of which connect to our past and current campaigns. These are Canadian wildernesses worth protecting and worth capturing on camera. To see more of Peter Mather's work, visit his website at www.PeterMather.com.
     

     

    A wood canoe paddles underwater in the clear clean waters of Atlin Lake in Northern BC.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

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  • United Nations Goes to Bat for the Flathead Jul 28, 2010
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    Back in September, 2009, UNESCO, the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization made the trek to the Flathead River Valley. This week, UNESCO released their findings in a report.
     
    The UN is recommending permanent protection of the Flathead River Valley, so that it may become part of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in Alberta and Montana. The Alberta and Montana park areas have World Heritage Site status and the UN recommends that BC and Canadian government assign equivalent ecological protection to the Flathead.
     
    The story of the report hit the wire earlier this week and news of the UN’s recommendation has reverberated around the world, including the CBC:
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  • Celebrate Canada's Parks Jul 15, 2010
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    Saturday, July 17th marks Canada’s National Parks Day. It's also the kick-off to the Canadians Parks and Wilderness Society video contest called Celebrate Canada’s Parks. Here's the contest low-down in three steps:
     

    Step  1. Consider how remarkable it is that there are 42 National parks in our country.

    Step 2. Pick one.

    Step 3. Create a two-minute video about why that park is so amazing. 

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  • The World Cup of Wilderness Protection Jul 07, 2010
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    Welcome to the Wilderness Protection World Cup, where 32 nations compete for wilderness protection supremacy!
     
    For the last four weeks, 32 countries have been in the international spotlight as their football teams compete in the FIFA World Cup. Headlines have ranged from player's personal lives to international politics.
     
    Here at The Big Wild, we've taken it upon ourselves to measure and compare national conservation efforts in the form of a World Cup bracket. Who is the winner of the Wilderness Protection World Cup? Well, see for yourself! (Percentages represent the amount of protected land within the country. Data courtesy of NationMaster.com)
     
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