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Carol Patterson

INSPIRING EVERYDAY EXPLORERS Through wildlife tales and trails

Carol Patterson

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Turning back the clock on Gwaii Haanas

September 8, 2017 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

When Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site found itself overrun by introduced species, the Archipelago Management Board decided to take action. Realizing that Haida culture was threatened by invasive species, the AMB developed a multi-year, large-scale restoration project to remove rats and deer.

Only twelve people at a time can land at Watchman-monitored sites

Rats were poisoned but another approach was needed for the deer. To learn what it’s like to travel into the battle zone as Gwaii Haanas staff wrestle back ecological integrity and rescue their culture, read my story in the UK Independent.

Haida travelled great distances in their canoes
Invasive species threaten culture as well as natural environmentsClick to Tweet

 

 

Filed Under: British Columbia Tagged With: culture, deer, Haida Gwaii

Cinnamon buns and ghost stories in Gwaii Haanas: watchmen provide cultural connections

August 23, 2017 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

The moss-covered path in Canada’s remote Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve and Haida Heritage Site seemed deserted until a tall, black-haired Haida man stepped from behind a giant cedar. He was watching me.

Read more at Roadstories.ca

Why might meeting a Watchman be the best part of travel to Gwaii Haanas?Click to Tweet
Only twelve visitors at a time can visit Gwaii Haanas sites with Watchmen

 

If you go:

Haida Style Expeditions offers day trips to several of the Watchman sites

Gracie’s Place offers rooms across the street from where Haida Style Expedition tours start.

If you are doing a multi-day trip stay near Sandspit where many tour operators depart from. Bayview Garden B&B offers hostel rooms as well as B&B rooms.

Visit the Haida Heritage Center at Kay Llnagaay to learn more about Haida history and cultural demonstrations.

Filed Under: British Columbia Tagged With: cultural tourism, culture, Gwaii Haanas, Haida Gwaii

Getting a Sense of Place in Canada’s Cape Breton

August 9, 2016 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

Cape Breton Canada“My mother died last February and I came home,” said the elfin blonde waitress at Main Street Restaurant & Bakery seafood restaurant as way of introduction. “I grew up here in Ingonish Beach, but I moved away over thirty years ago. When I came back for my mother’s death the snow was so high. You know those clotheslines people hang their laundry on? I was able to step over it in snowshoes. We had to shovel a tunnel to the windows and the doors of my mother’s house,” she concluded with a shudder. “We couldn’t bury her until May!”
Looking around at the verdant green trees and freshly mowed grass, it was hard to believe Cape Breton winters could be that harsh although this island off Canada’s east coast is surrounded by cool Atlantic waters. “I could never spend the winter here again,” said the waitress, “I’m happy to be here for eight weeks in the summer but when it’s over, I’m out of here.” Sympathizing with her about the remoteness of the region and lack of facilities, she corrected me when I said there was no hospital. “Oh, there’s a hospital eighteen minutes away and a pharmacy and a senior’s center, so everything you need is here, but it’s just SO small,” she lamented, circling her fingers to depict a tiny circle.

I could picture the lack of privacy that living in such a small community would bring. Everyone would know your business but it seemed they would have your back too. As my husband and I watched the lobster fishermen roar into Ingonish harbor with the morning’s catch, we asked if a local man if he knew anyone who sold cooked lobster. “Rod sells lobster,” he muttered, scratching his head, “but he’s a fisherman too. He doesn’t start selling lobster till the season is over.”

Continuing the conversation, he asked why we didn’t cook the lobster ourselves. A lobster could be had for $8 a pound off the back of the boats. When we explained we were in a rental RV and didn’t have anything to cook lobster in, he pulled off his ball cap and scratched his head. “Well, I just live up the road. I could lend you a pot and a cooker,” he offered. We had to decline as we were headed down the road and had no way to get the pot back to him or use it before we left. But as we drove out of town, it seemed the hospitality here ran as deep as the snow drifts. It must be nice to be from Ingonish.

TWEETABLES. 

Getting a Sense of Place in Canada’s Cape Breton – Click to Tweet.

How Canada’s Cape Breton spends the winter months: Click to Tweet.

My friend @reinventure shares everything you need to know about Canada’s Cape Breton. Click to Tweet.

Filed Under: Maritimes Tagged With: culture, sense of place

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Calgary, Alberta, Canada

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