Hello from the BLBCA

It's been a busy time for us here at the BLBCA! We hosted and just wrapped up our 2021 Photo Contest, asking the community to show us #myBCbackcountry Through Your Lens and demonstrate responsible recreation in the backcountry. As our team reviewed the entries, we learned how our community supports and embodies this practice through leave-no-trace principles, supporting conservation initiatives, making earth conscious purchases, and encouraging responsible use from other backcountry users through spreading awareness and education. 

This contest—and specifically the written submissions we received—certainly affirmed the level of proactivity and responsibility that our community takes when using and recreating in the backcountry. Of course, it comes as no surprise, though we are proud to be a part of a community that recognizes the importance of responsible recreation and backcountry use and actively strives to leave these natural wonders in better condition with each visit.

Another thing that was clear to us while reviewing the entries: while our community loves getting outdoors themselves, they also love to share their appreciation for the backcountry with others. The benefits of sharing this admiration can also serve a greater purpose; in the words of one of our winners, Ben Mier: "I am a nature photographer and one my main purposes of my images is to attract people towards nature so that when they fall in love with it, they will then want to help conserve it."

We hope you'll take a few minutes to check out the winning entries (in the event you missed our announcement last week) along with some of our honourable mentions. And then, go get into nature near you and remember just how truly special it is to be in the great outdoors.

#myBCbackcountry Through Your Lens Photo and Story Contest Winners and Honourable Mentions

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 2021 photo and story contest, #myBCbackcountry Through Your Lens! Our BLBCA team and guest judge, Jamie Out, loved viewing all of your amazing photographs and reading through your stories about how you recreate responsibly in the backcountry. 

We’re thrilled to share the winning entries in both the photo and story categories, along with a number of our honourable mentions, as well. 

Congratulations to the three prize winners that have each won a mountain lodge getaway and a very special thank you to Mistaya Lodge, Nuk Tessli Lodge, and Ice Creek Lodge for providing such incredible prizing!

What We're Reading: Putting Things Right

We wanted to share a recent article from Mountain Life Media that we've read, titled Putting Things Right: How the Pandemic Reveals our Dependence on Nature, which caught us with the following line:

"The pandemic is but a single symptom of overarching human ecological dysfunction." 

This line spins off a reference to a well-established chain: consumer demand → deforestation → loss of wildlife habitat → greater human contact with animal disease reservoirs → zoonotic transfer → epidemic.

"Coupled with the widespread effects of climate change—floods, wildfires, glacial retreat, landscape collapse, ocean acidification—it should be clear to us daily that human enterprise is in a state of gross overshoot. At the rate we’re consuming nature’s goods and life-support services, ecosystems simply cannot regenerate... It’s easy to see our path as unsustainable."

The article outlines Canada targets and goals and reviews where our country stands in terms of progress with those goals. We thought it was an interesting read and if you're intrigued, check out the full article in Mountain Life Media.