US Wilderness Act turns 50 today
After eight years of persistent work by members of The Wilderness Society and prominent members of conservation community in the United States, and more than 60 working drafts, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Wilderness Act on September 3, 1964. This historic act created a formal mechanism for designating wilderness and created the National Wilderness Preservation System. The initial wilderness areas designated in the Act covered 9.1 million acres (37,000 square kilometres) of national forest wilderness areas in the USA previously protected by various administrative orders....
Read MoreA short visit to prairies of southern Saskatchewan
August went by in a blink of an eye. At least for me this year. I have been preoccupied with efforts to finish my thesis (I am currently enrolled in a Master of Sustainable Development program at the University of Saskatchewan). A self-imposed restriction on travel & photography resulted in a rather slim harvest of images. A week ago I had to attend a meeting in Val Marie, just a stone throw from Grassland National Park. An opportunity to take my camera gear on a short jaunt and deal with the nagging withdrawal symptoms. Last year Parks Canada started an extensive trail construction on...
Read MoreSENS Photo Contest winning entries
Two of my images won “Best in the Category” prize in the 2014 School of Environment and Sustainability Photo Contest. Each year, SENS holds a photo contest to showcase the photography talents of school’s students and alumni. Category winners and the overall show winner are selected by popular vote. I entered several images and won in two categories: Sustainable Community and The Urban Environmentt. Category winners and the overall winner are posted on the SENS Web site. Besides bragging rights that my images are winning entries in the “international” photo...
Read MoreCanadian Bondar Challenge – a photo contest to connect youth with nature
Roberta Bondar Foundation is launching the Canadian Bondar Challenge, a weekly photo contest to encourage Canadian youth ages 13 – 18 to explore the natural environment in their communities. The contest goal is to promote a hands-on outdoor experience that inspires the sense of awe, respect and appreciation for living organisms that share our planet. I am not personally connected with the Foundation, just passing on this information because I believe we have to do something about the growing nature experience deficit in our society. The photo contest will run throughout...
Read MoreWorld Environment Day – ‘Raise Your Voice, Not the Sea Level’
World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated every year on June 5th, to raise global awareness and positive action for the environment. The UN General Assembly declared 2014 as the International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and the 2014 World Environment Day will shine a spotlight on issues facing the SISD in light of climate change. The official WED slogan for the year 2014 is ‘Raise your voice not the sea level’. Global mean sea levels are rising and are forecasted to continue rising in the foreseeable future. Because the rate of sea level rise is much faster...
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