Invitation to Attend the Free CAOC Bear Safety Workshop
in August
By Calgary Area OUtdoor Council

In our June 2010 newsletter we announced that the new CAOC Bear Safety Program was now underway, and that this free program centers on the Travel Safely in Bear Country workshop as taught by Karelian Bear Shepherding Institute of Canada. We sponsored our first class of 36 qualified students in June and a second class in July, and now invite people to attend our final workshop for this summer on Saturday, August 21, from 9:00am - 1:00pm.

As we've previously stated, if you're not yet familiar with the vocabulary of CAOC-sponsored programs, the word "sponsor" means we will use our Casino funds to pay the professional instruction fees for you. Also, the word "qualified" means CAOC-sponsored programs are available only for the non-profit sector of the outdoors community. Non-profit clubs - maybe you're a hiking or climbing or mountain biking club - along with societies, groups of volunteers, or even a bunch of friends, are usually considered to be qualified organizations. Individuals who don't belong to any particular organization are also welcome. Emphasis on the non-profit sector means our sponsored programs are not available for employment requirements, professional development or commercial gain purposes.

You do not need to be a CAOC member to participate in our Bear Safety Program, nor do you need any other affiliation with us.

To apply for the CAOC-sponsored Bear Safety Program please follow these steps:

1. Make sure you are a qualified organization (or individual).
2. Determine how many people from you organization would like to attend the Travel Safely in Bear Country workshop.
3. Organizations should assign a spokesperson to contact the Calgary Area Outdoor Council. A suggestion: We've learned that clubs, for example, often assign their own presidents, trip leaders or training coordinators as their spokesperson.
4. Have your spokesperson contact the CAOC office at (403) 270-2262 or caoc@caoc.ab.ca as soon as possible.

New CAOC Member Profile: Peyto Lake Books
By David Peyto

In 2002, retired elementary school physical education teacher, David Peyto, started self-publishing under the name of Peyto Lake Books. Peyto Lake, located along the Icefields Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper, is named for David’s great uncle, Bill Peyto.

To date, ten books have been published. A series of four books entitled Banff Town Warden feature the warden journals of Walter H. Peyto, Bill’s younger brother and grandfather to David. Walter was the town warden in Banff for thirty-four years. Bill Peyto Guide to Canadian Rockies Trivia Volumes 1 and 2, list multiple-choice questions covering a variety of topics relating to the National and Provincial Parks along the Alberta-British Columbia border.

The author has drawn upon his teaching experience in publishing a Calgary walking guidebook and three books about Calgary parks. For many years he organized and led walks at Connaught, Ogden and Colonel J. Fred Scott Schools. These walks visited many of Calgary’s natural areas and pathways. One student group spent three days after school walking the entire length of Fish Creek Park. Another group took five days to circle the Glenmore Reservoir, walk the Elbow River Pathway to Fort Calgary, and then along the Bow River Pathway to Bowness Park. In January 1988, David organized the Calgary Schools Torch Relay prior to the Olympics. The Schools Relay took about a week and a half to travel a route through the city visiting most of Calgary’s Public and Catholic Schools.

The author asks, “What better way is there to explore Calgary than by walking?” The guidebook Walk Calgary’s Escarpments and Bluffs provides directions for walking a 177-kilometer route of sixteen connected walks ranging in length from 8 to 15 km. Walkers can discover the Bow River valley by following the escarpments and bluffs between Tuscany and Cranston. You can explore Nose Creek and West Nose Creek valleys as you wander north from the Calgary Zoo to Hanson Ranch. The Elbow River valley can be explored by walking the escarpments and bluffs between Fort Calgary and Weaselhead Natural Area. Walk from Burnsmead to Shannon Terrace along the escarpments and bluffs of Fish Creek Park. The guidebook contains archival and contemporary photos along with short descriptions about points of historical interest along the route.

Discover North Calgary’s Parks and Green Spaces lists ninety-one parks and green spaces. Wetlands, ravines, children’s wading pools, sculptures, older community parks and local history are waiting to be discovered. To quote J.T. Ronald, Mayor of Seattle (1892-93), “Parks are the breathing lungs and beating hearts of great cities . . . and in them are whispers of peace and joy.”

Discover Southeast Calgary’s Parks and Green Spaces introduces you to sixty parks and green spaces. A bird sanctuary, two former oil refinery sites converted to parks, and a former railway yard converted to a park are yours to discover. Thomas Mawson in his 1914 report presented in Calgary stated, “The parks, public gardens and playgrounds of any city must necessarily play a very large part in its civic life.”

Discover Southwest Calgary’s Parks and Green Spaces describes one hundred-and-six parks and green spaces. You can visit a forest trail close to downtown, parks honouring Canada’s military, and parks developed after streets were closed. William Reader, Calgary Parks Superintendent, stated in 1920, “If we would draw people from the outside, we must not only be able to show visitors the business facilities and advantages, but we must also be in a position to show them a beautiful city, with parks, playgrounds and boulevards.”

The author is presently researching more walks in Calgary. Groups or organizations interested in viewing a slideshow presentation on either walking or parks are invited to email dwpeyto@telus.net or info@peytolakebooks.com.

Peyto Lake Books
www.peytolakebooks.com

New CAOC Member Profile: Buffalo Jump Environmental
By Buffalo Jump Environmental

Michael Duarte-Pedrosa and his family made a conscious choice to move to a smaller center when they returned to Alberta from Seattle, Washington. They conducted a major remodel of a small mining house in the Crowsnest Pass area, incorporating many sustainable features. At times they wondered ‘what were we thinking’. Now that the remodel is almost done, Michael and his family feel good about their choice to limit waste and preserve natural resources, versus demolishing and starting over.

"It is easy to understand why the status quo has been just that," says Michael. "Change can be hard, but the more people become aware of what is possible, the easier that change becomes."

This understanding and commitment to reconnecting with the natural world has led Michael to embark on an exciting journey. In Vancouver and out of personal interest, he took the Sustainable Building Advisor (SBA) course. It was developed for professionals by the National Sustainable Building Advisor Program (NaSBAP), a non-profit organization based in Seattle, and is now offered by course providers in the United States and Canada. The course has over 800 graduates to date. The purpose of this unique and comprehensive sustainable building course is to give practicing professionals the tools they need to make our built environment more sustainable.

Green Roof, Vancouver Convention Centre

Michael notes that, "Sustainable buildings are places that people want to be. They provide economic, social and environmental benefits to developers, owners, tenants, design professionals and the surrounding community."

Buffalo Jump Environmental was created by Michael to offer the SBA course in Alberta. "The name was somewhat inspired by our proximity to Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump and by my daughter, Stephanie (age 11). Buffalo was a word I wanted to use as it represents sustainability in extremes: how the First Nations used buffalo in its totality to sustain life. True, the buffalo perished for this to happen; however buffalo populations were sustained for thousands of years in this way. The demise of the buffalo did not come until much later and for very unfortunate reasons. Our civilization will go the way of the buffalo, perhaps, sooner than nature had intended, if we are not careful in our choices. The built environment is a major one of these choices due to its impact on our resources, energy and well-being."

The Sustainable Building Advisor course, run by Buffalo Jump Environmental, is a nine-month course, with instruction commencing in October 2010 and taking place two days per month. The course is also offered by an affiliate, Brighter Green, in B.C, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. This specialized training course and certification exam are designed to enable graduates to give advice to employers or clients on strategies and tools for implementing sustainable building.  They also improve one's marketability in the evolving building industry.

The course draws students from architecture and planning firms, engineering companies, developers and contractors, government agencies, research institutions, resource conservation organizations, utilities and environmental consulting organizations.

Eight units comprise the course:

The course is approved by the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Educator Provider Program, as a prerequisite and for maintenance credits for LEED AP, for 100 Learning Credit Units under the Architectural Institute of British Columbia (AIBC) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and for 16 core learning units under the Alberta Association of Architects (AAA).

Students will benefit from expert instructors, an interactive format, group projects, presentations and research papers, field trips and case studies. And as a result of their participation they will:

Take a look at a video to hear what course graduates have to say:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUo-3Cz8p0g

To pursue the SBA program in Calgary:

For more information contact:

Michael Duarte-Pedrosa
Buffalo Jump Environmental Inc.
michael@buffalojumpenvironmental.com
www.buffalojumpenvironmental.com
(403) 563-9110

New Member Profile: Verge Permaculture Inc.
By Verge Permacultrue

Permaculture is a design system for sustainability, based in science and guided by ethics. Having originated in Australia in the early 1980s, permaculture design is now a worldwide movement of grassroots activists, designers and teachers working to restore degraded landscapes and human communities.

Verge Permaculture Inc. is Rob and Michelle Avis. Rob and Michelle demonstrate and teach that sustainable human habitat is possible. Both graduates of engineering from the University of Alberta, Michelle began working in the oil and gas industry and Rob started a small renewable energy consulting business in 2003/04. Their interest in sustainability, desire to explore, uncover insights and practical solutions have since resulted in numerous extended trips to Europe, North America, Central America and Australia.

Now offering a wealth of knowledge and experience from around the world, their portfolio includes months visiting permaculture sites in Australia and volunteer work at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia, a six-month sabbatical learning about renewable energy systems at a non-profit in Denmark, and off-the-beaten track travels throughout Mexico examining sustainable agriculture practices. They have hands-on experience with numerous concepts including: strawbale buildings, Earthships, passive solar design, wind turbines, and solar power and heating. They also understand and emphasize the importance of biological systems: soil, water harvesting, landscape rehydration, composting, growing food, gray water and biological wastewater treatment.

As a speaker for community events, non-profit groups and businesses, Rob is keen to share his passion and vision. He has been invited to guest lecture at the University of Calgary, taught workshops in partnership with the non-profit Green Calgary, and now teaches permaculture design certification with courses planned cross Western Canada. Many of Calgary-based courses will be held at the Calgary Area Outdoor Council.

Verge Permaculture is:

• A Calgary-based company that specializes in a systems design approach to sustainable human habitat and a focus on interconnected elements: low energy buildings, water management, waste re-use, renewable energy and food production systems.
• Passionate about helping Canadians regenerate degraded landscapes, build topsoil, and improve our surrounding ecologies so both ours and future generations can lead healthy lives and benefit from natural resources.
• Excited to be offering permaculture courses and looking to inspire people to embrace integrated solutions and empower them to bring connected design concepts into their own home, businesses and lives.

Verge Permaculture can:

• Incorporate permaculture principles and engineering design philosophy to present an integrated, sustainable design for your urban home, backyard, business, community, rural homestead or broad-acre farm.
• Provide design, guidance and information on renewable energy solutions, green heating, cold climate buildings, or perform an energy audit, economics and feasibility studies for custom energy plans.
• Provide designs that protect and regenerate soil, air and water, and minimize waste using tools such as re-vegetation, composting, nutrient cycling, water catchment and re-use, biological water treatment, swales, dam building and ecological landscape design.
• Inspire your community, business or interest group by leading informative, practical and positive courses and workshops about permaculture and how to design sustainable human habitat.

For more information visit www.vergepermaculture.ca

Gem Trek Publishing

Gem Trek Releases the 6th Edition of the
Canmore-Kananaskis Village Map on Waterproof Material

For those of you who have been asking and waiting, Gem Trek’s brand new, just-released 6th edition of the Canmore-Kananaskis Village map is now on waterproof material and also has relief shading!

You can challenge yourself on a strenuous trail that winds up through forest and wildflower-dotted meadows to commanding views from the summit of Ha Ling Peak. Or enjoy a more relaxed meander along a shady creek to enchanted Karst Spring, where you can spend hours photographing moss covered boulders and driftwood.

Whatever your interests or energy level, you’ll find some of the best-loved hiking trails in Kananaskis Country covered on this map sheet, including Grassi Lakes, Yamnuska, Heart Mountain, Pigeon Mountain, West Wind Pass, Galatea Lakes, Buller Pass, and Centennial Ridge, the highest maintained trail in the Canadian Rockies.

There are also many less-travelled hiking trails you may want to explore, including Old Goat Glacier, East Wind Pond or the hoodoos in Wind Valley.

New on this map is the recently built Highline Trail on the south side of the Bow Valley near Canmore, which will challenge more experienced mountain bikers. Also new on this map are the marked snowshoe trails in the Ribbon Creek area, including the two Village Loops and the trail to Troll Falls.

In Gem Trek’s usual map and guide format, there is a 1:50,000-scale relief-shaded topographic map on the front and a user-friendly trail guide on the back.

If you’re new to Kananaskis Country and not sure where to start or how to get there, the back of the map features descriptions of 14 highly recommended walks and day hikes. Each is rated easy, moderate or strenuous, and includes elevation gain as well as clear directions to the trailhead.

For mountain bikers of all levels, there are descriptions of six classic rides rated either novice, intermediate, or more advanced and technical. There are also trail recommendations for overnight hiking trips, as well as cross-country ski outings.

If you’re especially interested in views, wildflowers, waterfalls, exhibits, or just wanting some ideas of good hikes for early season or rainy days, a list of trail suggestions on the back of the map will help point you in the right direction.

This new 6th edition of the Canmore-Kananaskis Village map is on waterproof material and sells for $13.95.

It is available in downtown Calgary at Map Town and MEC, as well as at other outlets in Calgary, Cochrane and Canmore that normally carry the Gem Trek maps, plus the three Kananaskis Visitor Information Centres in Kananaskis Country.

For more information, please contact Donna Nelson at Gem Trek Publishing:
Website: www.gemtrek.com
Email: dnelson@gemtrek.com
Phone (250) 380-0100

Parks Canada