By Creston Public Library
All around our beautiful valley there are various opportunities for enjoying nature. We go mountain biking, hiking, canoeing, back country skiing, berry picking and other pursuits. While we have these great outdoor opportunities, we must also be mindful of the fact that we share the outdoors with all types of wildlife. It is our responsibility to ensure that our recreational pursuits do not contribute to human-wildlife conflict. How do we keep safe and minimize the anger when meeting wildlife?
On Thursday, September 14th at 7pm the Creston Public Library is hosting a presentation with Trish Drinkle the WildSafeBC community coordinator for our area. WildSafeBC’s motto of keeping wildlife wild and communities safe nderscores the belief that if we can keep wildlife from becoming habituated we can, in turn, make our communities safer for us and at the same time keep wildlife from coming to harm. This idea encompasses all aspects of living, laying and growing in the beautiful Creston Valley.
For the most part, real wildlife wants nothing to do with humans. But there are times when wildlife may react defensively to our presence, and in the very rare instance view us as a menu item. Additionally, if wildlife has become abituated to humans or food conditioned then the risk of human-wildlife conflict can be increased. There are basic guidelines that Trish will be speaking on as well as specific details concerning individual species whether we meet the animals in their habitat or if they come to ours. Learn how to stay safe in the back country, when encountering species such as moose, bears, cougars and more. How can we minimize the chance of meeting wildlife that might pose a risk?
Come and learn! Trish will be providing a bear spray demonstration to help us understand how to use bear spray safely, and effectively. Bear spray has proven to be an effective, non-lethal, bear deterrent capable of stopping aggressive behavior in bears. Trish will also speak about attractant management and coexistence, so we all can help keep wildlife wild, and our community safe! Attractant management is essentially a food management program designed to lessen potentially dangerous wildlife activity in human use areas such as neighbourhoods, schools, campgrounds and trails through removing both natural and unnatural attractants. The meeting room entrance and the garden space is to the rear of the building. As always, library programs are free and open to all. See you there!