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Carol Patterson

INSPIRING EVERYDAY EXPLORERS Through wildlife tales and trails

Carol Patterson

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Biodiversity Strategies for Cities?

April 12, 2016 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

Calgary_BiodiversityMy eyebrows reached my hairline when I heard my hometown had a biodiversity strategy. With over a million people, I hadn’t thought of Calgary, Alberta as a biodiversity hotspot. True, it has the most extensive urban pathway network in North America and I’ve enjoyed watching owls and eagles along the Bow River in the city center but isn’t a city a bad home for wildlife?
Surprisingly, there are more opportunities for critters than you might think. Next to parkland, wasteland, railway yards and industrial areas have high numbers of rare and important species. Perhaps because those areas have open spaces and few people. Some animals don’t coexist well with humans like the sharp-tailed grouse eliminated by off-leash dog use on Nose Hill but others adapt. Scientists have observed some urban birds adjusting their calls to be heard over traffic noise.

The City of Calgary tabled its biodiversity strategy in March 2015. With 80% of Canadians currently living in urban areas and with a projected increase of 90% in North American urban areas by 2030, it makes sense to develop biodiversity strategies that mitigate urban sprawl.

City of Calgary representative Chris Manderson says Calgarians understand abstract biodiversity concepts and 74% think biodiversity is important, but that doesn’t always translate to action in real life. As an example, he described comments people made on a ravine in their neighborhood, “some people asked if we were going to fill it in as it looks too messy.” Other comments included “a little too natural…because of this no one uses it” or “there are coyotes because of the ravine.” This ravine was important habitat for wildlife but not everyone connected their support of biodiversity with landscapes not designated as a park.

Manderson says the City needs to educate citizens on biodiversity. “We need to rethink our relationship with wildlife in our city.” Asked if provincial or federal jurisdictions are working with Calgary on their biodiversity strategy, Manderson said there was interest but it wasn’t a priority for them. It sounds like city biodiversity strategies are a new concept for many. Hopefully more city dwellers will soon be thinking about how they share the landscape with their animal neighbors.

To learn more about Calgary’s plans go to http://bit.ly/22o2wCW

TWEETABLES

Biodiversity Strategies for Cities via @Reinventure. Click to Tweet.

My friend, @Reinventure , is sharing the importance of biodiversity plans for the future: Click to Tweet.

Isn’t a city a bad home for wildlife? via @Reinventure. Click to Tweet.

Filed Under: Alberta Tagged With: ab, adventure travel, biodiversity, biodiversity strategy, calgary, chris manderson, city of calgary, travel

Is Calgary a hotbed of adventure travel legends?

November 13, 2015 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

Many Canadian cities are close to mountains (Hello Vancouver) but few have the concentration of adventure travel legends found in Calgary. I set out to discover for Avenue Magazine if there was something in the air, the water or the culture that was producing so many world-class adventurers in Alberta’s biggest city. What I found might surprise you.
http://www.avenuecalgary.com/City-Life/5-Calgary-Adventure-Legends-Laurie-Skreslet-Bev-Watson-Denell-Falk-Brian-Keating-Travis-Steffens/

Filed Under: Interesting People Tagged With: adventure travel, calgary, mountaineering

Unusual Combinations Lead to New Opportunities

April 10, 2013 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

Las VegasWhat do you get when you cross an empty plane and the power of social media? How about the chance to fly weekends with a 30% discount and no connecting flights?
Jump On Flyaway’s founder, Roger Jewett, is taking a page from Groupon’s playbook and asking travelers to use group purchasing power for weekend jaunts. As Matthew Gillott, says “The planes we use shuttle crews to the oil sands during the week, but sit idle all weekend.” They will be idle no more! With the inaugural flight scheduled April 19 to Vegas, Calgarians can jump on board and return Sunday April 21.

Passengers will clear customs in Calgary saving precious time when they land and eventually hotel bookings will be offered to further streamline the process.

WestJet and Air Canada will not welcome another competitor; already WestJet is meeting Jump On’s price for the launch weekend. It remains to be seen if a small upstart can compete, but I think Jump On is an interesting concept. It appeals to my sense of reinventure and using unusual combinations of the tried and true to create new opportunities.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn this concept was born here (not copied from another market) and I think holds promise with people wishing they owned their own aircraft, but are stuck with sharing flights with another 189 passengers.

Jump On passengers vote for preferred future destinations so while initial flights will go to Las Vegas, future flights may go to San Francisco or beyond. Jump On will start in Calgary and expand to Vancouver and Edmonton. If you want to jump on visit www.gojumpOn.com.

TWEETABLES

What do you get when you cross an empty plane and the power of social media? Find out here: Click to Tweet.

How would you like the chance to fly weekends with a 30% discount & no connecting flights? Click to Tweet.

Discover how you can jump from Calgary to Vegas with Jump On Flyaways! Click to Tweet.

Filed Under: Interesting People Tagged With: calgary, jump on, jump on board, las vegas, new opportunities

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Calgary, Alberta, Canada

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