This years Wilderness, Wildlife and Human Interaction symposium will focus on elements of ethical co-existence. The event is put on by the Cochrane Ecological Institute (CEI) at the Cochrane RancheHouse on Nov. 2 and will run the full day.
"This year we are trying to be a little bit more positive and offer the audience solutions, really tangible solutions toward stepping into this new paradigm and co-existing with wildlife," said Lisa Dahlseide a conservation biologist with the Cochrane Ecological Institute.
There will be a variety of speakers who will offer their personal experiences related to successful co-existence whether it be from a ranching perspective, municipality perspective or at the urban level in our backyards.
"We really want people to be inspired to really take on that transformation in their own communities to better understand and have ethical co-existence in their day-to-day life," explains Dahlseide.
Key speakers will include Gilbert Proulx who focuses on ethics and professionalism in Wildlife Management and Research. Joe Engelhard a rancher who will share his background on non-lethal solutions in dealing with cattle and wolves. Lesley Fox will talk about Canada's Eco Hero, the beaver. Bryce Casavant will share his search for wild peace that discusses Wildlife Law Enforcement Agencies and accountability and finally Joe Duff will talk about birds and operation migration.
The day's events will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a opening prayer by Francis First Charger of the Kainai First Nations. Dahlseide pointed out that Charger has always been a key element of their past symposiums as he grounds and deepens all participants for what the days activities hold.
A documentary will be screened telling the story of Charlie and Maskwa, the two bear cubs that CEI rehabilitated in 2018 and released in June of 2019.
Also in the program will be active community member Carol Tracey who will be sharing the story of the purple poppy. The purple poppy is a way to honour and acknowledge the contributions that animals have served in wars. It can be worn alongside your red poppy and although it is more known in the UK the hope is to bring awareness to Canadian and local culture.
"Willie Nelson has been a force to try and get this acknowledged. He wrote a beautiful song and has an amazing video that we will be sharing," said Dahlseide. "People will be able to purchase by donation purple poppy's at the event."
Doors will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday (Nov. 2) until 5 p.m. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at Eventbrite - Wilderness, Wildlife and Human Interaction. Also on location will be an artisan market from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The market is open to the public as well as the food trucks from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
