As the school bells ring again and the days get shorter, it’s time to get excited about another Wild & Scenic Film Festival. Mark your calendars for November 18th! It’s the festival’s 10th year and we’re planning to make it even more awesome than before. The Columbia Valley Centre has a new screen, and it’s BIG! Tickets will go on sale October 13th.

As you may know, this is Wildsight Invermere’s annual fundraiser. Last year, we were able to add $16,000 to our coffers to keep our programs going. Can you be a sponsor or know of any business that would want to be associated with this ever-popular event? 

Contact Karen at invermere@wildsight.ca to receive our sponsorship package. As in the past, we’re also organizing an online auction, so in addition to soliciting sponsorships, we’re looking for cool items. 

What can you do to help? Join us for a planning meeting at my house on Sunday, September 17, 3-5 pm. We’re putting our heads together and brainstorming some ideas. The festival aims to share life-changing stories of adventure, nature, and environmental awareness from around the world. While it’s fun to watch films, we want to include something more to inspire people to transform their passion into action.

RSVP: Email me baiba@wildsight.ca and I’ll send you my address. Sunday, September 17th, 3-5 pm. There will be tea and goodies. 

 The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is always a stimulating evening filled with friends, food and drink, door prizes, great conversations…. Help us make it even better.

Baiba Morrow,
Festival Coordinator
baiba@wildsight.ca

In 2021, the Wildsight Invermere Board initiated a $500 bursary to a graduating student at David Thompson Secondary School. We felt it was important to encourage the pursuit of continuing education in an environmental field of study and to gain scientific knowledge, creativity, and expertise to contribute to a more sustainable world.

Congratulations to Hannah Kendler, our 2023 recipient. Here’s a little bit about her.

My name is Hannah Kendler, and I grew up in the Columbia Valley. Living here has taught me to value the environment and has motivated me to conserve it. I am thrilled to receive the Wildsight Invermere bursary as they do lots of work to protect our wildlife and raise awareness, such as through the Spark electric vehicle and community outreach booths. I want to have the same beneficial impact on the planet that Wildsight has, and the first step toward that goal will be to further my education. This fall, I will study mechanical engineering at the University of Toronto. There, I will choose my focus to be in energy and the environment, learning how to improve contaminated surroundings, develop facilities that directly affect our modern economy, public health and safety, and design environmentally responsible products and processes. I am participating in the co-op program, which means that I will work for a year in between my university studies. During this time, I hope to locate a job relating to my field of interest in order to get a more comprehensive educational experience and career connections. My long-term goal will be to work on issues such as generating or enhancing energy sources, conservation of safe drinking water, and air pollution control.

In August, Wildsight staff member Ben Gormley took part in the Fish Habitat Stewardship Workshop put on by the BC Wildlife Federation in partnership with the Lake Windermere District Rod & Gun Club (LWDRGC) in Invermere.

The workshop focused on Lake Windermere and its tributaries with a particular focus on the ecosystem restoration work at Abel Creek. Instructors covered everything needed to complete a restoration project including project planning, in-stream restoration techniques, fish salvage and ID, and stream and riparian habitat assessments. 

What stuck out to Ben the most from the workshop was the amount of hard work, dedication and planning it took for the LWDRGC to restore this relatively small stream. The impact can already be seen and kokanee are expected to return to the stream to spawn in record numbers this year!

This is just one of many creeks and streams in the Invermere area that have been negatively altered by human activities. Wildsight is hoping to use the skills and knowledge from this course to develop a fish habitat restoration project in our area.

The Columbia Basin Trust has just completed its Columbia Basin Management Plan, which sets out how the trust will work over the next 10 years and what that work will include. The draft plan was intended to reflect feedback from Basin residents, including the recent community engagement process called Our Trust, our Future. Please take 5 minutes to read the draft plan and consider whether the plan reflects your priorities and will help establish a future you desire.

Our reading of the plan showed a deficit in two main areas:

1. Reducing carbon emissions. The focus seems to be on adapting to climate change rather than addressing the root causes of climate change – carbon emissions.
2. Public education and learning. For long-term success in any of the focus areas outlined, the public, especially youth, need to be aware of the issues and be engaged in the solutions.

Please submit your comments on the plan today.

Our rivers are the lifeblood of British Columbia. They connect our communities and provide drinking water. They support countless species and ecosystems. They are important places of history and culture and give us outstanding recreation opportunities. Here at the headwaters of the Columbia River we are blessed with free-flowing water, unlike downstream communities that are faced with one of the 60 dams in the Columbia River Basin. Join us on BC Rivers Day to come together on the Columbia and help increase community awareness about our local waterways. Everyone is welcome! 

Meet at the Athalmer Boat Launch at 10 am on Sunday, September 24th to paddle down the Columbia River to Radium. This will be a casual, unguided event that takes about 4 hours with the opportunity to connect with others and celebrate the importance of our rivers. Bring a lunch and appropriate clothing.

Our friends at Columbia River Paddle are once again offering discounted rentals and shuttles at $60 for a canoe and shuttle combo, or $25 per person for a shuttle (with your own boat) back to Athalmer. These prices do not include taxes.

Please book your boat rental or shuttle by email to paddle@columbiariverpaddle.com or by calling 250-342-7397. 

Any questions? Email us at invermere@wildsight.ca

Between 29 and 55% of carbon pollution in our communities comes from burning fossil fuels in our homes. Heating and cooling our living space accounts for the majority of these CO2 emissions. In order to reduce these emissions, we need to build smarter and retrofit existing homes quickly. Wildsight Invermere, the Community Energy Association and the East Kootenay Climate Hub are partnering to provide a Climate Friendly Homes tour on October 14th. Plan on attending to learn more about what you can do to make your living space more comfortable, save money on utilities, and reduce emissions.

If you are a home owner of a climate friendly home and would like to be part of the tour please fill out this FORM.

Do you ever get frustrated by the amount of plastic waste you generate (knowing plastic is not truly “recyclable”)? Circle Market and Cafe can help you as you strive for a zero-waste lifestyle. Refill your shampoo, conditioner, liquid hand soap, dish soap, laundry soap, deodorant and many more household essentials. Stop by and see what they have to offer.

Have a local business you’d like to nominate as a climate hero? Email us at invermere@wildsight.ca

A Day of Action for Old Growth Forests is being organized by Sierra Club, Stand.Earth, Wilderness Committee and Wildsight. Check out one of these links for more information. Three years have passed since the B.C. government committed to work with First Nations to implement a paradigm-shift in forest stewardship, as laid out in the Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR). Yet unfortunately, the B.C. government has made little progress on their promises. In fact, most old growth, including the most ecologically at-risk, remains on the chopping block. So on September 28, communities from across the province are coming together to rise up for the last remaining old growth.

In support of this day of action please join us on a short hike on Thursday, September 28th to visit our local old growth trees and talk about the benefits of old established forests. Email us at invermere@wildsight.ca for more information and if you are interested in attending. We will meet at Big Horn Cafe in Radium at 10am, Sept 28.

Are you a team player anxious to make a difference in your community? Are you a whiz at social media, great at grant writing, super organized and efficient? Read the full job description, and please share widely within your friends and networks.

Please apply with CV and cover letter to invermerejobs@wildsight.ca. The posting will stay open until the best candidate is found.