EcoSask News, July 3, 2012

Leave No Trace, Go for the Gold, Protect Bird Habitats, Campaign Creatively - EcoSask News covers the spectrum of environmental action

EcoTours, First Aid & Leave No Trace
The Saskatchewan Outdoor & Environmental Education Association (SOEEA) has 4 upcoming events: 

• Leave No Trace Master Educator Course (August 2-6) – Vinessa Currie-Foster from Clearwater Canoeing will be leading a Leave No Trace Master Educator Course at Forest House. 
• HELP International Eco Tour (August 11-12) - Spend the weekend learning about development issues in Canada and in Africa complete with hands-on, real research and development opportunities at HELP International (Weyburn). Families are welcome. 
• Backpacking Eco Tour (September 1-3) – Learn to prepare for a backpacking trip and spend 2 nights backpacking on an Eco Tour in Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park with experienced trip leaders. Families are welcome. Leave No Trace principles will be discussed and practised. 
• Wilderness & Remote First Aid (September 14-16) – The basic level of Wilderness & Remote First Aid covers material in Standard First Aid & CPR plus special material on techniques for wilderness and remote areas and strategies for providing extended care for up to 24 hours. Part of the course is taught outdoors and it requires greater physical activity and endurance than typical first aid training. The course will be taught at the Boreal Forest Learning Centre near Big River. 

Generating Momentum, August 23-26 
18-29 year olds are invited to participate in Generating Momentum: Activist Leadership Training Camp, August 23-26 in Dundurn. The theme is developing, supporting and uniting progressive voices.

Will Civic Buildings Go Green?
The City of Saskatoon’s environmental advisory committee has recommended that the City install a minimum LEED standard of gold for all new civic buildings of more than 5,400 square feet. "Leading by example demonstrates commitment and provides direction and experience for the design and building sectors and enables our city to take advantage of many long-term benefits including lower civic operational and maintenance and renewal costs," the report from the advisory committee says.

Melville Goes Paperless
The City of Melville is the second Saskatchewan municipality to adopt the iCompass Meeting Management Solution. The web-based program streamlines the creation, approval and distribution of agendas, minutes, and related meeting material for small-to-medium-sized municipalities.

Beaver Bonanza 
Visit the SaskEnergy Beaver Pond room at the Beaver Creek Interpretive Centre and discover why beavers build their lodges and dams and how their busy work benefits others. Beaver Creek is open from 9 am to 5 pm on week days and from 9 am to 8 pm on weekends and holidays.

The State of Canada’s Birds 

The Canadian Wildlife Service and Canadian NGOs have jointly produced the first State of Canada’s Birds report.

Trevor Herriot comments, “The report, some 36 pages, is well done, but I wish these kind of documents could be more direct and forthright instead of taking the mincing, bureaucratic tone of every report edited by committee. When are we going to admit, for example, that our focus on individual species in the Species at Risk, endangered species approach is an abject failure; that we are not making any progress securing important bird habitats and preventing industry from destroying them?” 

Who Will Care For Our Parks? 
The Saskatoon StarPhoenix reports that there will be 21 fewer employees at Saskatchewan’s national parks and historic sites this fall. The hours and/or season of 11 additional employees may also be affected. There are 260 Parks Canada workers in Saskatchewan, 157 of whom work at Prince Albert National Park, as well as 103 people employed at 6 historic sites.

Bicycle Helmets 
Mikael Colville-Andersen, an urban cycling expert, says that bicycle helmets have one measurable effect – they discourage cycling by making it seem too dangerous. What do you think?

Beautiful Trouble
Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution “consists of short, interrelated modules – creative tactics, action design principles, case studies, and theoretical frameworks – that together comprise an accessible matrix of best practices and ideas in creative campaigning.” It’s available in either paperback or ebook format.

EcoSask News is a weekly round-up of local news and events. Email us if you have items you would like us to include. A listing of upcoming events can be found on our Calendar.



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