Taking a cruise into the Arctic is becoming more popular, but it does not come without negative effects, writes Jane George in Nunatsiaq news.

I sometimes wonder why I lug around my large camera when hiking, but a while back the work paid off when one of my photos won a photo contest for BC Parks. Today I picked up a copy of the 2008 camping guide for BC, and was happily surprised to see the photo on its cover.

I think it fits well - encouraging young people to go out and explore our provincial parks. The photo was taken in Golden Ears Provincial Park, just outside Vancouver.

UNESCO has added the Joggins Fossil Cliffs in Nova Scotia to its list of natural World Heritage sites. It is Canada’s 15th World Heritage site.

The UBC Varsity Outdoor Club has a good wiki on hiking and climbing trips around Vancouver. Yet another source for hiking ideas.

Earlier this year, National Geographic Adventure Magazine published a list of top-ten green destinations around the world. It includes Canada’s Tatshenshini River as one of five eco-successes world-wide.

I was living  right at the source of the Tatshenshini on Chilkat Pass when they were exploring at the Windy Craggy minesite; a DC3 with supplies would fly over my study area every single day for most of a year. Cancellation of the permit and creation of  Tatshenshini-Alsek park was a huge victory for conservation groups, creating the world’s largest protected area (together with Kluane in the Yukon, Wrangell-St. Elias in mainland Alaska, and Glacier Bay in SE Alaska).

My colleagues in the media team have just launched a new media centre website today. Much better than the old one. It’ll be easier to subscribe to news, story ideas and an industry forum.

The other day, the Globe and Mail had a pretty good article on what global tourists are looking for. It is exactly what we are trying to address with our new experiential tourism brand.

Earlier this year, the Crown of the Continent Geotourism Council, together with National Geographic, launched a cool new website about the region that includes and surrounds Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in southwestern Alberta, southeastern British Columbia, and northwestern Montana. They also publish an accompanying hard-copy mapguide of the area. It’s well worth getting if you plan to explore this lesser know part of the Rockies.

Earlier, I reported on the issues surrounding water bottles made of polycarbonate. Here is a more recent post with additional information. Time to start retiring my #7 bottles, I guess.

A little while back, National Geographic Adventure magazine posted an article on the best places to go in the Pacific Northwest, including BC. Some cool trips! Check out the heli-biking and exploring Haida Gwaii on the Duen, an historic Norwegian ketch.