November 7th 2012 - Over the Edge Volume 19, Issue 5 November 07, 2012 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Reza Akbari MANAGING EDITOR Shelley Termuende PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Randy Roy WEBSITE MANAGER Behrooz Dalvandi A&E EDITOR Jordan Tucker COPY EDITOR Ben Filipkowski FEATURES EDITOR Gala Munoz NEWS EDITOR Hanna Petersen SPORTS EDITOR Geoff Sargent STUDENT LIFE EDITOR Leila Maheiddinibonab CONTRIBUTORS Paul Strickland Michelle Mungall Jeff Hollett The deadline for the next issue is Monday, November 5th. Be sure to get your articles in on time! Over the Edge is the official independent publishing media of students at the University of Northern British Columbia. As such, it is our mandate to report on issues of inter- est to students in the Northern Region. We encourage all students, both on the main and regional campuses to submit to Over the Edge. Over the Edge is part of the Canadian University Press network of papers, otherwise known as CUP. CUP is an organization that is entirely owned by member papers, and provides such services as a news wire and advertising to Over the Edge. Over the Edge is published every second week during the fall and winter semesters. Office Location: 6-350 MAILING ADDRESS 3333 University Way Prince George, BCV2N 4Z9 PHONE (250) 960-5633 FAX (250) 960-5407 E-mail ote-newspaper@unbc.ca MUSKW Dawn Hansen A-KECHIKA: A LIVING LANDSCAPE 360 degrees of snow-capped mountains for hundreds of kilometres in every direction and no one but them and their horses. Photo In August, ten students, our instructor and a TA left the University of Northern British Columbia for what we would later recognise as some of the best days of our lives. We drove from Prince George 14 hours up to Muncho Lake, Northern Rockies Lodge, where we abandoned conventional travel for a floatplane trip 100 kilometres into the middle of nowhere. Here we found ourselves at Mayfield Lake basecamp, home to Wayne Sawchuck and his crew for three months of the year Wayne has_ worked within the Muskwa-Kechika Park, guiding horseback trips and promoting the conservation of the area for the past twenty years. With nineteen head of horses, some for riding and others for packing, there is no shortage of opportunities to develop your equestrian skills and to partake in unique experiences. We were welcomed to the camp by friendly faces, sunshine, and remarkable scenery. Wayne, Jerry, Debbie, Charity, & Michelle, received us with exceptional warmth into their lives, shared their stories, experiences and skills with us. The Muskwa-Kechika Management Area (MKMA) is a section of land the size of Ireland below the Yukon border and near Fort St. John. This incredibly diverse mountain area contains ten provincial parks surrounded by special management areas where any resource development can occur; this area plays host to a variety of wildlife species. Critical landscapes and features are one of the many qualities that make the MKMA unique. The MKMA was developed with economic and environmental sustainability in mind, and has been used to model how human activities can coincide with environmental values. We were in the Muskwa-Kechika as part of our studies in Outdoor Recreation & Tourism Management/ Conservation; this included learning and practicing our guiding skills, Leave No Trace practices, establishing and applying our ecological and long-term monitoring techniques, and developing our outdoor skills. We had the opportunity to learn about the landscape, its history (including palaeontology), botany and _ the wildlife that frequents the area such as moose, bears, caribou and many more. We were there to learn about the values of the Muskwa-Kechika, and to experience the magic for ourselves. more information, stories and photos come to the “’Horsing Around’ in the Muskwa-Kechika” talk on November 7 from 5:30-6:30pm. Please see the ORTM Facebook page for more BC FOODS DAY CAMERON BELL, NUGSS AD CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY MIKE DEWAR, CFSG COORDINATOR There's always something to say about food at UNBC, but two weeks ago the buzz wasn’t around the produce at the University Farmers’ Market or the Bread Guy cookies at the Corner Store. UNBC’s annual BC Foods Days brought products from around the province to the cafeteria for two days of largely-local-lunches prepared by Eurest. This year, the event coincided with the launch of UNBC’s Campus Food Strategy Group (CFSG), a nation- wide project run as a_ partnership between the Sierra Youth Coalition and Meal Exchange. Ten campuses across Canada are improving their campus food systems through CFSG’s, multi- stakeholder groups that collaboratively address food-related concerns. CFSG coordinators and volunteers engaged the campus community in the ongoing dialogue around food at UNBC during their kick-off event. Through the inexpensive but effective method of dot-on-page surveying, the CFSG collected feedback on the current campus food system and opinions on future developments. While it may not be rigorous scientific data, it provides some initial information for the CFSG to continue their work around food. “It was an excellent opportunity for us to get valuable information from AT UNBC the UNBC community. Through this form of outreach, we are learning how the campus food system is perceived and how we can all work together to continue to improve it,’ said Nitha Karanja, CFSG coordinator. The Kick-off Event on October 23rd coincided with BC Foods Days, an annual collaboration between UNBC’s campus food service provider, Eurest Dining Services, and the Northern Undergraduate Student Society (NUGSS). Over the past two weeks, university campuses across Canada have been hosting similar events with support from Farm to Cafeteria Canada. “We are very excited to be a part of this campaign,” said UNBC’s sustainability manager, Alvaro Palazuelos. “This demonstrates UNBC’s commitment to a sustainable campus food system. As Canada’s Green University, it is essential that we are leading campuses across the county on sustainability initiatives.’ Over the past few years, the cafeteria has hosted some form of ‘Local Food Day’ in the fall. This year’s iteration included two days of hot meals consisting of ingredients sourced from our very own province, including a variety of foods from the Prince George area. Several local businesses provided unique ingredients, including tilapia from Northern Bioponics, sausage from Roger’s Custom Meats, and bread from Red Rooster Bakery. Rodney Mansbridge, Eurest’s Head _ Chef, prepared a delicious assortment of vegetarian and meat dishes inspired by seasonally available products; breaded tilapia, vegetarian ‘meatloaf; pork roast, and several variations on stir-fries and pastas over the two days. “It was an exciting opportunity for us to work with NUGSS to demonstrate that as the campus food service provider, we are continually striving to meet the needs and desires of the UNBC community.’ said Willie Lum, director of food services for Eurest at UNBC. We all know that our options are somewhat limited when it comes to finding a bite to eat on our small campus. While cost is often the highest priority for us broke folk, CFSG’s initial feedback also shows that a large proportion of students are looking for nutritious, delicious, and even local food on campus. Change takes time, but things are definitely changing at UNBC; two years ago, we didn’t even havea farmers’market. Event organizers are planning on hosting another BC Foods Day in the winter semester, but in the meantime, support some local producers at the UFM, every Tuesday in the NUSC Event Space from 11 to 3.