Join Wildlife Ambassador Derek Ryder at the Canmore Public Library for their Earth Talks presentation There's a Bear on my Street! A conversation about urban wildlife.

This Earth Talks event, in partnership with the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley, will take place on Monday November 20, 2023 in the Friends Program Room at 7:00pm. Registration is required to attend in-person.

For those who are not able to attend in-person, you can join online via Zoom. (Registration is not required when viewing live on Zoom).

About the Event:
Attendees will learn about:

• Encountering bears and other wildlife in the wilderness is good; having them in the urban environment is problematic

• Strategies that could help in preventing bear removal or relocation

• What you should do if there’s wildlife (like a bear) in YOUR neighbourhood

We’ll also have a question period and discussion. Some things we look forward to discussing are:

• Some people are resistant to the idea of removing their fruit tree. Imagine you are one of these people: what could the Town, or the Biosphere Institute do, to convince you to help you decide to get rid of your tree?

• How do you think we SHOULD be dealing with urban wildlife?

• Is the argument that “the wildlife was here first” a valid one?

• How can we continue to improve human wildlife coexistence? What are the barriers/opportunities?

About the Presenter:
Derek has been a Wildlife Ambassador with Bow Valley WildSmart for 12 years, educating people on human-wildlife coexistence and appropriate behaviours. But he’s much more than that. He’s also a member of the Kananaskis Bear Team, tracking collared bears and helping manage roadside and campground bears; a volunteer with Alberta Parks Ecology Team supporting various wildlife research projects; a Bow Valley Steward, supporting vegetation management, graffiti removal and other projects; and has also been on the Board of Directors of the Friends of Kananaskis for 11 years – among many other things!