Finally, some positive movement in reducing the number of bears killed on the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks that run through Banff National Park.
In the past, in this space, we pointed out that, being that man has been on the moon, nuclear power has been harnessed and computing power has grown exponentially over the decades, there had to be some way that a multi-billion dollar company like CP could do something about bears being mashed on the rails.
That happened when the corporate giant partnered with Parks Canada on a five-year, $1 million research project to figure out how bears use the landscape and what puts them on the railway tracks.
And this week, some results are actually in (page 4). Finally, with some proper attention being paid to bear mortality in relation to the railway tracks, it’s becoming clear that grain left on tracks isn’t the only thing that draws bears. And finally, the use of electrified mats is showing promise as a means of keeping bears off areas specified as being critically dangerous.
Here at the Outlook, this is the kind of project we’ve been waiting for. Rather than reporting that more bears have been killed on the tracks, we can actually report that something is being done to save our beloved bruins.
Now we just need to see things move from promising to preventative.
Take it outside
Kudos to those at the new newly-formed Wim and Nancy Pauw Foundation in Banff for promoting what should be obvious, but doesn’t seem to be anymore – the value of going outside.
In donating $25,000 to outdoor education programs at both the elementary and high schools, the foundation has clearly recognized that youth need to be encouraged to step outside and take in the real world.
While many will claim the whole world is at your fingertips when sitting in front of a computer, as kids are want to do more and more as time goes on, there is simply no substitute for actually getting out there.
On a computer, you can watch and study portions of the world, yes, but until you actually step outside, get your shoes dirty, touch some bark, pick up a stone, have the wind blow in your face and view things with your own eyes, the computer world will remain a vanilla, non-tactile, non-energizing experience.
In a world where weekly reports state the growing trend of child obesity, where you read that for the first time in history more people are now dying from overeating than starvation, where kids need to be de-programmed from computer game addiction, where David Suzuki points out that typical kids recognize 1,000 corporate logos but can’t identify 10 birds and where kids are being plugged in to all manner of “devices” at younger and younger ages, maybe we need people like the Pauw Foundation founders to help people connect with the world around us.
It’s one thing to watch a YouTube video of an owl, say; it’s quite another to be in the forest on a cool fall evening and watch an owl fly soundlessly through the treetops as it pursues its dinner.
Many parents and others in the Bow Valley, of course, have much more appreciation for nature than in many locales, but it never hurts to encourage more of a get out there attitude.
