Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

CPAWS launches video contest to Celebrate Canada's Parks
Win a trip for two down the South Nahanni River!

We’re celebrating Canada’s national parks! There are 42 of them. Pick one. Create a two-minute video about why that park is so amazing. And you could be eligible to win a guided trip down the world-famous South Nahanni River through the recently expanded
Nahanni National Park Reserve, courtesy of Nahanni River Adventures.

Valued at $15,000, the coveted Nahanni trip is the grand prize. But you could also win a video camera, national park passes, and gift certificates to Mountain Equipment Co-op. Prizes will be awarded for the top voted video for each of the 42 parks as well as a weekly random draw.

It's easy. Just create your video - no experience required. Videos can include photos, unique features about a park and personal experience to tell the story of a particular national park. Enter the contest and vote for your favourites!

Once you've posted your video, encourage your networks to vote for it. The top 10 most voted videos will move to the judges round for the grand prize. CPAWS will announce the top videos and the grand prize winner in November.

What you can do:

Creating your video:

The submission deadline is October 12, 2010.
This is your chance to be a tour guide without leaving home!
You just need to answer one question in your video: What’s so awesome about one of Canada’s national parks?

To enter the contest, create a video that:

• Tells viewers what’s so great about one of Canada’s 42 national parks (learn about them here)
• Educates, entertains, and shows off your skills as a park guide
• Is no longer than 2 minutes

Submitting your video:

1. Go to YouTube and click “Upload”.
2. If you are a YouTube member, login and upload your video to your YouTube account. If you are not a YouTube member, follow the instructions to sign up for membership (there is no fee to become a member)
3. Upload your video to your YouTube account.
4. Visit the contest “Add New Video” page at URL to register and submit your video for the contest. You will be required to provide your contact information, the name of your video, your video’s unique YouTube URL, and which National Park your video is about, and you be required to agree to the Rules.

Tips:
If you customize your video information, please make sure your Broadcast Options are set to “Public – Share your video with the world! (Recommended)” and your Sharing Options for “Embedding” is set to “Yes, external sites may embed and play this video”.

Winning prizes
Once your video is approved, it’s time to get the word out! Send the link to your friends, post it on Facebook and Twitter, blog about it, and call your grandmother. Ask everyone to vote for your video, and increase your chance to win!
The top voted video for each park will win a prize, and the top 10 voted videos on the site will go to final judging for the top three prizes.

Thanks to our supporters for making this contest possible:

Fish Creek Provincial Park

TUESDAY TOURS – July & August 2010
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Various Park Locations

This summer take time to discover the natural wonders of Fish Creek Provincial Park. Every Tuesday evening in July and August a guided walk will be offered in a different area of the park. Bring your family and friends and join us as we explore this beautiful valley. Come prepared for the weather and walking (easy trails). Bring sunscreen, water, a hat, bug spray, binoculars, and a camera.

Everyone is welcome however tours are more suitable for adults, and children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Registration: Pre-registration is required, as there is limited space for tours please phone 403-297-7927 or email Roland.Kirzinger@gov.ab.ca

Admission: By donation (suggested $2.00 per person) all proceeds support education programs in Fish Creek Provincial Park

Sponsored by: Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation; Fish Creek Provincial Park; and the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society

Phone 403-297-7927 for more information.

August 3rd: The Skyline Trail

Join retired Park Planner, Wayne Meikle on a tour of the old Skyline trail to see how nature rejuvenates itself and to discuss the wetland projects within Fish Creek. Note this walk will see us on some steeper terrain and is more difficult than other Tuesday Tours.

When: Tuesday, August 3rd  
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Meet in the Bebo Grove parking lot (access at the south end of 24 St. SW)

August 10th: Wildlife Monitoring In Fish Creek Provincial Park

Join Conservation Officer, Huntley Johnston to explore the tactics and technology involved in monitoring wildlife movements in Fish Creek. See remote wildlife cameras and some of the images they have taken and learn of some of the wildlife research taking place in the Park.

When: Tuesday, August 10th
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Shannon Terrace Day use area, meet in the last parking lot  (Woodpath Road access off 37 St. and 130 Ave. SW)

August 17th: Watershed Stewardship On Fish Creek

Sampling and testing the waters of Fish Creek has been part of the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society’s Watershed Stewardship program since 2007. Join The Friends Projects and Programs Director, Vaughn Hauser to learn about the water quality monitoring and testing taking place along Fish Creek.

When: Tuesday, August 17th 
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Glennfield Day use area, meet in the big parking lot (Off Bannister Road and McLeod Trail S)

August 24th: Birding Basics

Join birder and naturalist, Sid Andrews and Environmental Education Coordinator, Roland Kirzinger for an evening birding tour through Rotary Nature Park. Learn about birds of the riparian, wetland and Bow River areas of Fish Creek. If you have them be sure to bring binoculars, field guides and a camera.

When: Tuesday, August 24th   
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: Rotary Nature Park (South side of 22X, access past Mackenzie Meadows Golf Course)

August 31st: Kananskis Country Comes to Fish Creek

Get your whole family excited about the natural world with songs, stories and fun characters!  Join a Kananaskis Country interpreter for a 50-minute, high-energy interpretive program featuring plants and animals of the Rocky Mountains. 

When: Tuesday, August 31st 
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Hull’s Wood Amphitheatre (Bow Bottom Trail SE after the Bow Valley Ranch and before Sikome Lake)

Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park

The Mountain WIT Variety Show! 

• Free summertime performances every Thursday night in July and August
• First show on Thursday, July 8, 7:00pm – 8:00pm
• Hull’s Wood Amphitheatre, Fish Creek Provincial Park (access off Bow Bottom Trail SE, turn left into Hull’s Wood after passing the Bow Valley Ranch)

The award-winning comedy troupe Mountain WIT brings its unique style of info-tainment from the mountain parks to the big city and will perform a different show each week! Audience members of all ages will enjoy the witty, comical, and educational songs, stories, and sketches about our World Heritage Sites including Banff, Jasper, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks. You have never seen an interpretive show that's this much fun!

Help celebrate 125 years of National Parks in Canada with Parks Canada's Mountain WIT and the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society! Watch for Mountain WIT at special events in the Mountain Parks this year.

For more information about these Free Summertime Performances, please contact the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society at (403) 238-3841 or info@friendsoffishcreek.org.

Nature Calgary

Nature Calgary is sponsoring a “”big year” of birding in 2010. Birds Calgary 2010 will be a friendly competition among birders, with categories for beginners and experts, to see as many species of birds as possible within Calgary city limits from January to December next year.

One objective of this competition is to encourage new birders and young people to participate. We hope to increase the number of people involved in birding and nature study in Calgary, and to promote awareness of Calgary’s parks and natural areas.

The competition is free and open to everyone. There will be classes of the competition for advanced birders, for novice birders and for young birders.  We will also have competitions for birders who use only non-motorized transport, for the biggest single day list, for the biggest backyard list, and for the best bird photographs.

EARLY REGISTRANS WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A DRAW.
THE COMPETITION IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
http://birdcomp.fanweb.ca/2010/
http://birdscalgary.wordpress.com/