Carol Patterson

INSPIRING EVERYDAY EXPLORERS Through wildlife tales and trails

Carol Patterson

Book Review: 125 Nature Hot Spots in Alberta

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Two of the most talented travel writers I know – Debbie Olsen and Leigh McAdam – have turned their considerable talents to ferreting out 125 of Alberta’s best destinations for nature lovers.

Their new book “125 Nature Hot Spots in Alberta” profiles parks, conservation areas and wild places across mountain, prairie, forest, and water landscapes. Each profile includes an easy-to-read summary of reasons to visit, activities available, months open, and physical and website addresses. The extensive consultation they have done with park managers and nature experts shines through in unusual historical and geographic facts on each location, tips on avoiding crowds, and suggestions for making the best use of time.

The book is a combination of well-known locales (Banff National Park) and undiscovered jewels (who knew McLennan proclaimed itself the Bird Capital of Canada?). As a bird lover I appreciated the book’s emphasis on bird and wildlife watching but there is plenty for those more interested in moving than observing.

Hikers will enjoy tips on tackling a hiking route, cyclists the best direction to travel a route, and paddlers the identification of waterways suitable for beginners versus experts. People seeking caves, dark skies, hot springs, larch, nature festivals, paddling, and waterfalls will find a list of special interest places they can string together for a themed trip or check off as time allows.

In all cases McAdam and Olsen stress the need to tread lightly as they point the way to sensitive environments.

A separate section is devoted to special interests.

Visitors to Alberta will find the book helpful if they want to go beyond places often featured on tourist brochures. Well-travelled Canadians will find it breathes new life into their vacations or weekend getaways. I’ll be keeping this book handy for years as I plan more outdoor adventures.

Published by Firefly Books and available wherever books are sold online and in bookstores.

TWEETABLES

Book Review: 125 Nature Hot Spots in Alberta – Click to Tweet.

My friend, @Reinventure, is sharing a book review on “125 Nature Hot Spots in Alberta” in her latest blog post. Discover all the details about this amazing book: Click to Tweet.

Calling all nature lovers! Check out this new book “125 Nature Hot Spots in Alberta” by 2 of the most talented travel writers out there, @hikebiketravel & @wanderwoman_Deb – Click to Tweet.

Selling green tourism with a story

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Convincing people to pay for environmental sustainability sometimes takes a story. Ellis Bird Farm(EBF), one of central Alberta’s best (and free) attractions discovered bird brains can sway corporate thinking with the right tale.

This story’s heroine is Amelia, two ounces of determined purple martin living in one of the farm’s many birdhouses. EBF became a magnet for birds when farmers Winnie and Charlie Ellis put out thousands of pounds of seed. When they got too old to keep it up they sold the land to a large petrochemical plant with the proviso the birds be looked after forever.

Thirty years after Charlie and Winnie moved out, MEGlobal still funds EBF’s operating costs and EBF biologist, Myrna Pearman, keeps looking for ways to advance wildlife conservation and education. An alliance with Dr. Kevin Fraser and the University of Manitoba to put geolocators on purple martins was created to identify migration routes (something unknown at the time).

Data revealed that the first purple martin to return (named after another great aviator, Amelia Earhart) had wintered in South America, taking several weeks to arrive but rocketed back to Canada in the spring, flying on average 600km every day for three weeks!

Senior staff from MEGlobal’s Dubai office was visiting EBF in 2013 when this information was revealed, Amelia herself sitting nearby on a pole, her tiny appearance belying tremendous stamina but her story made an impression.

At a MEGlobal meeting the next day it was decided to gift EBF with an additional $450,000 to build a new visitor center – a spontaneous gesture rarely seen in corporate governance. But the staff was so moved by Amelia’s story and the work done at EBF they wanted this tiny tourism attraction to reach even more people with bird stories.

A few months later the new visitor center opened and the second great aviator to be named Amelia secured her place as a tourism influencer!

To learn more visit www.ellisbirdfarm.ca

TWEETABLES

Selling green tourism with a story. Click to Tweet.

Learn how one bird named Amelia swayed corporate thinking. Click to Tweet.

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There’s an app for that park

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Parks Canada has a new app to make it easier to explore national parks and historic sites. With information on activities, events and places to stay you can make the most of your time on the road.

Parks Canada has offered up free passes for Canada’s 150th celebration so if you want to avoid the crowds, use this app to find the hidden gems – places that just as interesting or scenic but not as busy. The app will also let you quickly share your photos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Parks Canada’s app can help you plan your next trip to national parks

The app is also useful for planning your trip although you might need Parks Canada website if you want more detail on cultural or natural features. To learn more about the app go to https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/multimedia/apps

Parks Canada offers interpretative programs on park wildlife

To download the app, click here

TWEETABLES

Did you know there’s an app for that park? Click to Tweet. #ParksCanada

Make it easier to explore national parks & historic sites with @ParksCanada new app. Click to Tweet. #ParksCanada

Make the most of your time on the road with the new @ParksCanada app. Click to Tweet. #ParksCanada

A travel writer and a tale of three Charles (Darwin, Waterton and Russell)

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Being a travel writer is a privilege. Yes, the travelling is fun. I have to pinch myself when I get the VIP treatment at a destination I’ve dreamed of visiting, but it also brings you into contact with unexpected places or people with stories that need telling.

Want to be a travel writer? Find out what it takesClick to Tweet

When I was successful in placing a story with BBCTravel.com on Charles Waterton and Canada’s national Park that bears his name I knew little about him.

Do you have what it takes to be a travel writer?

To be a good travel writer you need to have stamina (imagine doing everything you do in a week-long holiday in a single day and you get an accurate idea of a media trip), resiliency (rejection rates for travel writers are brutal) and curiosity. You need to keep asking the questions that reveal details for a good story.

In researching my story in Waterton I discovered he had influenced Charles Darwin, writing a book that sparked Darwin’s desire to explore South America.

I also learned that Waterton was a pioneering conservationist, setting up the first nature preserve that protected predators. That led me to the third Charlie – Charlie Russell, one of Waterton Lakes National Park’s most famous residents and a lifelong champion of its most feared predator, the grizzly bear.

Would you travel if the travel weren’t free?

Some publications like the New York Times or BBC don’t allow writers to accept free accommodation or travel. That means you need to write a heck of a lot of stories to cover your travel costs or you need to write about something close to home where you can foot the travel bill.

Which is how I came to be in Waterton Lakes National Park hiking with Charlie Russell as he recounted his experiences babysitting wild grizzlies and advocating for protection of grizzly bears. His protection of predators resembled the philosophy started by Charles Waterton 150 years earlier.

Want to learn more about the life of a travel writer?

I’ll be speaking in Waterton Lakes National Park at the Wildflower Festival Sunday, June 18 at 4 p.m.

If you’d like to learn more about my life as a travel writer and why we need to know about Charles Waterton get your tickets http://bit.ly/2qxt5az

TWEETABLES

Do you have what it takes to be a travel writer? Click to Tweet.

Would you travel if the travel weren’t free? Click to Tweet.

My friend, @Reinventure, is sharing her experience of being a travel writer here: Click to Tweet.

The Wardens sing about buffalo and life on the range

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When I was young I dreamed of being a forest ranger. Mom would take me to Banff National Park evening interpretive programs on family vacations. The nights were cold and there would be mosquitoes to slap. In those pre-Internet days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, picture shows were done with slide projectors and wispy audio. One night a cat walked back-and-forth in front of the projector obscuring part of the show. 

I am not sure mom was as interested as I (maybe the campfire talks stopped the sibling squabbling for a couple of hours bracket) but those outings left me with a love of wildlife and national parks that’s never dimmed. 

My forest ranger aspirations started at a young age

Wonder what life is like as a forest ranger? The Wardens can tell youClick to Tweet 

Fast forward a few decades and I’m an accountant-turned-travel writer who never became a forest ranger with the nifty wide-brimmed hat. With the wisdom of hindsight I realize I would have hated long days in the saddle. But I recently discovered The Wardens, a musical group that showed me what my life might have been like if I had followed my childhood yearnings. 

The Wardens vocalists/guitarists Scott Ward and Bradley Bischoff were park wardens for many years

The hobby has become much more as The Wardens perform a multimedia presentation across western Canada that include songs written by the trio, slides from their many years in Canada’s first national park, and stories about what it’s like on the other side of the badge.

 

Canada’s Rocky Mountains inspire the music of Scott Ward, Ray Schmidt and Bradley Bischoff

The Wardens have released a new album, Sleeping Buffalo, to commemorate the recent return of bison (also called buffalo) to Banff National Park. The return of bison after almost 140 years is a big deal for first Nations communities who call the buffalo a brother and for park managers who are filling a hole in the ecosystem.

The Warden’s album Sleeping Buffalo celebrates the return of bison to Banff National Park

This album shares the emotion The Wardens feel for this momentous occasion at the park they dedicated their lives to protecting. If you’ve ever dreamt of being a forest ranger or are curious about Sleeping Buffalo check out performance dates and album info at http://www.banffwardens.com