Culture

Jasmine Kirk
Copy Editor

Par George has been called

“the armpit of BC” by many (most
famously, by the radio station Rock 101
in Vancouver in 2010), assumably for
the delightful mill smell that settles in
the bowl early on weekday mornings.
An “urban dictionary” search of

Prince George gives the town uglier
titles, and longstanding residents of
Prince George always seem to be

complaining about the town. Why, then,

are these residents still living here?
Prince George is akin to a geode--it
may seem ugly and boring on the
outside, but when you spend some
time cracking into the center, it reveals
a complicated and beautiful center.
Or perhaps Prince George could be
compared to warhead candies - the
first impression is sour and really, really
close to being horrible, but it becomes
worth the acid-burnt tongue when
you reach the sweet syrupy center. |
digress; we can all admit that Prince
George is kind of crappy upon first
impression. The best part about it,

and perhaps the most underrated,
however, is the city's parks and green
spaces, which university students (when
only here for a year or four) often miss
out on. For a town of 71 OOO people,
the city offers over 1500 hectares

of park and recreational space--just
make sure you keep an eye out for
moose and coyote, and wear some

bear bells to keep away unwanted
visitors. Go check out some of these
remarkable parks:

Ginter’s Meadow: Ginter's is one of
two in-town designated off-leash dog
parks, but you do not need to concern
yourself with a dog to enjoy the park.
You can enter from two parking lots,
at the end of Massey Ave or the end
of Ferry Ave, and the park stretches
between these streets, all the way up
the hill fo the university. There are two
smaller hills that can be walked, and
take about 20 minutes each at an
easy pace, or you can go for the long
haul, and hike up to UNBC - it takes
about 30 minutes fo get to the top. The
beautiful meadow is capped with a
ruined mansion, once owned by Ginter
himself. Ginter’s Meadow is especially
great to see in autumn, and you will
love the community feeling as you stop
to chat with all the dog walkers.

Forests for the World: FFTW is a
spectacular trail network that runs
around Cranbrook Hill. | like to start
behind Blue Spruce Campsite on
Hwy 16 [it is only about six kilometers
to UNBC from there), but there are
beginning points from behind UNBC
(the road behind the daycare will
take you right there), or from atop
Cranbrook Hill. There are some great
features to look for; if you are feeling
up to a hiking scavenger hunt, see
how many water towers you can find,

or stand atop the lookout and find the
natural rock wall with a homemade
campsite on top. In the winter time, a
great cross-country ski day trip can
take you from UNBC to Otway (the
Nordic Ski Club), and in the summer

it takes about an hour to walk around
Shane Lake. Yes, you can go fo Shane
Lake and appreciate beavers and
swans in the daytime, and you are not
required to stumble back to Res in the

dark!

Cottonwood Island Nature Fark: This
is a favourite, but only for about nine
months out of the year. The other
three months of the year it is almost
completely underwater, or covered
in mud. You can get to Cottonwood
from River Road - just go west on
First Avenue downtown, and turn left
before the bridge. There are beavers
aplenty, and the view of the river is
amazing. Cottonwood is very pretty
in the summer, and is frequented by
professional photography sessions
year round. Make sure you check it out
before everything melts!

LC Gunn Park: LC Gunn has a bad
reputation, but it holds an amazing
view of downtown Prince George.

If you are in town for any fireworks
events, definitely check them out from
LC Gunn. Following First Ave westward,
LC Gunn is the first right turn after

the bridge. It has multiole viewpoints,
from which you can hear activity at

Prince George: More Than an Armpit

Fort George clearly across the Fraser.
There are bike trails that go up the hill
- they make for a great hike up, and
the ride down will give you a super
adrenaline rush.

Moore's Meadow Nature Park:
Moore's used to be a glacier (that's
right, Prince George can get pretty
damn cold). This makes it the perfect
spot fo go in the winter time. The
meadow is at the bottom of Foothills,
just before the river. Trails around the
meadow make for a lovely hike, and
the meadow is another designated
off-leash dog area, with rolling grassy
trails spotted with geocaches. Head
down in the early evening on a hot
day, and Moore's might surprise you
with an ethereal chilly mist that hovers
just above the grass line around
twilight.

Prince George can be more than just
a stinky mill town, and if you head into
the woods and enjoy some of these
parks, you may be able to learn some
of the other features of the town all on
your own. There are hundreds more;
for a list of smaller parks in your area,
check out the “parks” page on the
City of Prince George website. Hiking
around town is a great way to shed
some of that university burnout, and it
is not uncommon to see students sitting
ina city park with their heads down,
getting some reading done as they
enjoy the refreshing outdoors.

Kyle Aben: UNBC's Own Climate Change Expert

Sarah Jackson
Culture Editor

FY energy revolution has brought
great wealth, and we're in the
middle of one towards renewable
energy,” explains Kyle Aben, the
UNBC Program Coordinator for the

Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions

(PICS).

PICS is a multi-university institute,
housed in the UVic. It includes the
research institutions UNBC, UBC,

and SFU. All of these universities are,
according to PICS' website, devoted to
researching, monitoring, and assessing
the impacts of climate change in

our region, as well as assessing,
developing, and promoting viable
mitigation and adaptation options to
better inform climate change policies
and actions. The institution was formed
to understand what is going on with

climate change and figure out how
we can best respond to it. PICS does
this through partnerships with the
government, the private sector, other
researchers, and civil society.

"PICS is not an advocacy group,’ insists
Kyle. It is instead devoted to providing
credible, peer-reviewed research
through partnerships with universities,
as well as offering online educational
resources, such as the highly-viewed
Climate Change 101 short courses,
and the organisation's most recent
climate insights: bite-size youtube
videos titled "What YOU can do about
climate change.’ In terms of research,
the institution is looking at a diverse
array of long-term responses and
alternatives to current environmental
problems, such as creating energy from
ocean currents.

Having a climate change expert

on campus (in addition fo the many
wonderful professors who specialize in
this area of research) offers a variety of
opportunities and benefits for students.
Kyle can usually be found in the

Green University Centre, in the Winter
Garden.

Kyle says that the main thing he can
offer students is access to information.
As a greenhouse gas (GHG) certified
inventory quantifier, he is trained to
measure carbon footprints, but is also
deeply knowledgeable on other
aspects of climate change. Kyle can
provide references for a paper, ideas
for projects, and can act as an advisor
on new opportunities in forestry. As

he explains, ‘it's not just cutting trees
anymore,” there are jobs in bio-energy,
waste-use, and carbon management.
"Forests suck up carbon,” so tree-
planting is not just a summer job
anymore; it is a method of sequestering

carbon that is becoming increasingly
important as our climate continues to
change at a rapid pace.

He can also offer ways for us to lower
our own impacts on the environment.
However, as Kyle points out, "politicians
are critically important.” In order for

us fo respond to this crisis, he believes
that governments need to provide
sound policies to enable businesses to
cut their carbon emissions. We can only
hope that the research, and education
offered by institutions like PICS, will
encourage policy-makers to think the
same.

If you would like to learn more about
PICS, or climate change in general,
you can stop by and speak with

Kyle in room 7-232, or email him at
abenkeunbc.ca. Membership is open
to anyone concerned or curious about
climate change at UNBC.