The Strathcona Wilderness Institute (SWI) is hosting the 2023 Backcountry Film Festival presented by Winter Wildlands Alliance, Friday, Feb. 24, at the Stan Hagen Theatre in Courtenay.
The Backcountry Film Festival is a collage of human-powered stories and backcountry-inspired experiences that ignites wild conversations and inspires action in communities that celebrate the present while looking toward the future.
The Backcountry Film Festival will help raise funds for SWI to operate two information centres in Strathcona Provincial Park: Buttle Hut (at Buttle Lake), and Strathcona Park Wilderness Centre (at Paradise Meadows near Raven Lodge). These information centres help inform visitors about trails and natural history, lead interpretive walks and hikes, produce educational talks and workshops, as well as create educational signs and interpretive maps.
The SWI also offers a TrailRider Program for those with mobility restrictions to enjoy what Strathcona Provincial Park has to offer.
The information centres are staffed by volunteers and university summer students through Canada Summer Jobs grants. Additionally, SWI is at the forefront of research and data collection in Strathcona Provincial Park. This includes floral and faunal inventories in the SWI Data Collection Project on iNaturalist, adventure science reports of wildlife sightings and supporting current research projects (Canada jay, Vancouver Island marmots, lichens, bryophytes, etc.) and much more.
Tickets can be purchased online at strathconapark.org or at the event (cash only at the door). $20 for adults and $10 for youth (16 & under). Everyone who attends will be entered to win some awesome draw prizes during the event.