It is that time of year when the bears come to the valley bottoms looking for food.  The delayed spring weather has meant there is a lack of food at higher elevations and we are seeing a very high concentration of bears in the valley.  Parks Canada has issued bear warnings for many of the trails around the Banff town site including the Fenland trail, Vermillion Lakes Dr., Sundance Canyon, the Marsh Loop and Healy Trail.  It is important to be aware and pay attention to your surroundings while recreating in the Bow Valley.  Please make noise while you travel and make sure your dogs are on a leash.  It is also very important to ensure all garbage is safely stored and disposed of and BBQs are clean.  For more information on living safely with bears, please follow the link.

No more waiting for the Spring and Fall clean ups!  The Town of Canmore will be trialing a weekly Large Item Clean Up Program for residential addresses on Mondays.  The program will begin on June 15 and operate until November 2 (no collection on stat holidays).  There will be a limited number of spaces available for registration each Monday.  Residents wishing to participate in the Large Item Clean Up must call 403.678.1580 to register their address & waste materials. Registration will be available from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, Monday to Friday. Follow the link for more information.

The Town in conjunction the Canmore in Bloom and the Bow Corridor Invasive Plant Initiative will be hosting the invasive plant group volunteer program where non-profit organization can register and raise $250 towards their group in return for learning about Invasive plants and assisting with some weed removal. To learn more, go to www.canmore.ca.  Program runs from June – September with limited number of spaces available.

Follow SPLASH the water droplet as she moves through our animated and interactive presentation about the water cycle in the mountains.

Interested in carpooling from or within the Bow Valley? Tired of wasting money, gas, and producing greenhouse gases? Did you know that just by driving the return trip between Banff and Canmore 5 days a week, you will drive 10,000 km per year and produce 2,300 kg of CO2?  For those who drive between Canmore and Calgary 5 days a week, that’s 52,000 km per year which produces 12,000 kg of CO2  per year.  Whether you would like to carpool occasionally, every day, or would just like the occasional backup option, sign up with Carpool Connector to get connected with other commuters, please follow the link to the Biosphere Institute home page for more information.