WildSafeBC is once again hosting their fourth annual BC Goes Wild event this September, inviting everyone across British Columbia to join in.
A press release from WildSafeBC says that September is historically a month where human-bear conflicts are at their highest. BC Goes Wild coincides with this month to bring awareness to these issues, while also promoting ways that people can live, work, play and grow in wildlife country.
Local WildSafeBC Community Coordinators will be hosting events in their communities which will include activities like nature walks, fruit presses, bear spray demonstrations, wildlife art and more.
READ MORE: WildSafeBC finds garbage left out overnight, reminds residents to be bear aware
You can also participate in the BC Goes Wild photo contest by sharing your WildSafe activities and tagging them online with #wildsafebc.
In Kimberley and Cranbrook, local coordinator Danica Roussy will be hosting BC Goes Wild events on September 21 and 22.
On Saturday, September 21, 2019 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Roussy will be hosting a bear spray demo and wildlife safety talk in Cranbrook. Meet at the College of the Rockies upper parking lot by the entrance to the community forest.
On Sunday, September 22, 2019 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Roussy will hosting several different activities in Kimberley. The first will be an electric fencing demonstration and workshop with Gillian Sanders from Grizzly Bear Solutions. This will take place at 11 a.m.. A location is yet to be determined. Afterwards, there will be another bear spray demonstration at 1p.m..
WildSafeBC will also be at the Apple Capture/Harvest Party hosted by Wildsight at 2p.m., at the Community Garden in Kimberley.
The BC Goes Wild Photo Contest also returns this year with three categories: WildSafe Wildlife, WildSafe Activities and WildSafe Rangers (for young photographers aged 13-17).
To participate in the contest, tag WildSafeBC in your photos on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #wildsafebc, and share how you live, work, play and grow in BC in a manner that reduces conflict with wildlife and helps keep wildlife wild and the community safe.
READ MORE: WildSafeBC on mountain biking and bear safety
Examples are securing garbage and compost indoors, picking fruit prior to it being ripe and letting it ripen in a secure location, using a properly installed electric fence, keeping pets on a leash, carrying bear spray while running, hiking or biking in bear country and freezing smelly items until the day of collection.
Chosen participants may be featured on WildSafeBC’s #saturdayspotlight, where they highlight innovative and practical ways people practice safety in our wild environment.
WildSafeBC does have a code of ethics to follow when taking photos of wildlife and submitting them. For more information contact local coordinator Danica Roussy at kimberley@wildsafebc.com, or visit the WildSafe BC website.
corey.bullock@kimberleybulletin.com
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