Climate Change - Why it Matters to get Involved

Climate change - you hear about it everywhere these days. No matter where you live, no matter what you do for a living and no matter how rich or poor you are - the climate is changing and you will be affected.  When it comes to the topic of climate change - those are the thing that I know for certain.

What is climate change?  What does that mean, really?  That seems to depend on who you ask.  Some say the earth is warming too much and the consequences will be catastrophic.  Some people say that that is a gross exaggeration.  Some say, people are the cause for the planet's warming - all the pollution we are putting in the air is warming the planet - others say it's just nature running it's course.  Some say we can stop it, reverse it or slow it down while others say this is just part of the planetary cycle and we must adapt.

I think the truth is somewhere in there - but to me that's not what matters.  What matters is what people, government and corporations are doing about it.  That's why we need to get involved, we need to be aware, we need to stay informed.

If climate change is caused by nature and is inevitable, then all we can do is adapt. So let's start adapting and stop wasting time, money and resources on looking at "other" causes. If climate change is caused by humans, then we need to address that immediately and correct our ways.  Either way, whether it's natural causes or caused by man - we can't just continue to abuse our planet and ignore the consequences.  If climate change doesn't get us - the pollution and contamination will.

Photo: Tarsandssolutions.org

I think we first we need to get real and be honest about the cause, milking this for profit is one of the problems I see - find the truth and stop creating controversy.  I cannot understand or believe the level of controversy out there on this subject - science and facts don't lie.

We all share this planet.  Since I can remember, I've noticed that some people, some governments and some corporations think they can do what they want with our natural resources.  It seems that for some the mighty dollar is more important than the air they breathe.  They build factories that pollute the air that we all breathe, mostly in the name of greed.

Photo:onenewspage.us

We only have one planet, we all need to care about how our resources are managed because we are all affected.  

We all need to get involved because it's time to find solutions.  The more people who are working towards positive changes, the more positive changes will come.

Over the weekend, people rallied together in the streets and the people's voices were heard: Take care of our planet - it's the only one we have!

And that's why climate change matters to me.
 

Planning the Cross Canada Canoe Expedition

We are Celine and Gerry, the Canadian Voyageurs.  We are crossing this great land of ours by canoe – a tremendous undertaking.

We are more than just nature lovers, we are environmental ambassadors – our lifestyle is unconventional – we live off grid in the remote wilderness, we grow our own garden - we lead a very simple and natural life.  We have spent a great deal of our lives exploring Canada’s spectacular wilderness.  While traveling this great country, we marveled at its immenseness and absolutely stunning beauty.  We've also seen some things that concern us.

A few months ago, we came across a very disturbing piece of information:  “Canada is now ranked last in environmental protection. (Globe and Mail, November 08, 2013)”. This is unacceptable, we are proud Canadians and we need to get the word out and get other citizens involved.  Our natural resources belong to all of us and if government won’t do it, then it’s up to us to protect them. 

We were inspired by others who have crossed Canada in the past to raise awareness for various causes.  We are crossing Canada by canoe filming our experience.  We are also making a photo journal of our expedition.  We fell in love with nature watching people like Bill Mason, Jacques Cousteau, and David Suzuki share their passion on film.  

Preparing for the long journey:

 

The big voyage begins in the spring of 2015 – with many mini-excursions planned this summer.  This year, it’s all about planning and promoting – and planning and promoting.  

One of the first things we discovered when researching this idea was that there were other groups that have done this voyage before us; each journey unique, done for its own reasons and faced its own challenges.  There are many different routes to explore; Canada is a canoeist's paradise.  We are still debating whether we are leaving from Vancouver or 100 Mile House, in beautiful British Columbia. We are leaning towards Vancouver which means undertaking a 51 kilometer (31.7 miles) portage over the Rocky Mountains.  We will travel down rivers mostly with the currents, there are a few rivers however where we will have to paddle against the current: the Winnipeg River and the North Saskatchewan River are two of these.  We will cross numerous lakes including the largest lake on earth, Lake Superior.   Our journey will take us across all the provinces, from one coast to the other, ending up in Moncton N.B.  We have never been to Canada’s east coast, so this part of the voyage will be especially exciting for us – exploring the unseen….  The entire expedition covers over 7000km of paddling and over 300 kilometers of portaging our gear and canoe.  Details about the expedition are being worked out daily and updates are posted on our website – see link below.

We have connected with members from other groups who have undertaken this journey in the past – it’s great to be able to share route and contact information.  We are gaining valuable information from learning of others’ experiences.  Did you know that in 1967 during the Expo 67 – 10 teams – raced across Canada by Voyageurs Canoe?  We’ve linked the video on our site. Love that 8mm film sound running in the background.

Gathering gear and getting supplies

The outcome of any voyage often greatly depends on the time, thought and effort you put into preparing for it – before you leave.  We both have Advanced Wilderness First Aid certifications – we are all about preparation and safety.  For us this is journey, not a race – it’s about documenting nature and sharing the experience with others.

We are used to traveling for long periods of time; we have even lived out of backpacks for 189 days straight.  Good gear is not only something you want it’s something you: need and must have. 

One of the most important pieces of equipment, the one that can make us and break us is our canoe, of course.  It took us about three weeks to shop around the internet and find the best canoe at the best price (delivered or picked up) for us.  We chose the Dumoine Composite by Swift.  Here we are at the factory to pick it up – it was a 15 hour round trip drive to South River, Ontario: 

We have not had the chance to try out this gorgeous canoe – the thaw is very late in coming, there is still ice on the lake at the time of this writing.  She sure is a beauty, isn’t she!  This Kevlar composite canoe has matching reinforced bumpers as an extra option for white water, it weighs 58 pounds – not bad for a 16 feet 8 inch canoe!  We will be renting advertising space on the canoe to our sponsors to help us with some of the costs of the voyage.  

You can find more details about our gear in other posts on our website.  Here is a quick rundown of what we already had, what we’ve purchased and what we still need to get.

Have already: Osprey backpacks, Big Agnes 2 man ultralight backpacking tent, Pic 10 waterproof video camera, Kodak Sport waterproof video camera, Canon Rebel i3eos camera/vid, MSR dragonfly stoves, air mattresses, Katadyn water filter, bucksaw, sleeping bags, solar panel for charging batteries, Spot Beacon locator, first aid kit, dry bags, cook sets, lifejacket for Pompom the navigator, tarps (of course), +

Also recently acquired: GoPro Hero3 waterproof video camera, wooden canoe paddles, life jackets, rain jackets, water shoes/sandals, 30 L  food drum with harness, 12 volt mini battery for solar charging, Hap Wilson’s Missinaibi river guide book, Kevin Callan – Top 50 canoe routes of Ontario, +

Have yet to get: canoe cover (this is something we really feel we will need) would like a couple more GoPro’s, memory cards, batteries, satellite communications such as Spot Connect or InReach, maps or topo for GPS units, banner for the canoe, +

Getting the word out

We feel more at home in front of a campfire than in front of a computer.  Getting the word out is part of our daily routine these days.  The more people we reach – the bigger the impact we can make.  Share these links with your friends:

We’ve opened a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Canadianvoyageurs2015

We’re also tweeting on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CanadianVoyage

I’ve opened a temporary free website http://celinegerry.wix.com/canadianvoyageurs, my latest challenge and what I am currently working on, while the ice melts, is building our own Canadian Voyageurs dot com.  We’ll have that up and running in a few weeks. We’ll be putting a nice big banner on the canoe.

Why we are doing this and why we need your help!

We are doing this for many reasons:  First because we can, our lifestyle and life experiences have prepared us to be able to do this journey.  It’s not everybody who can take six months to cross Canada to raise awareness for a cause.  We are not motivated by money.  It is health that is real wealth and living in harmony with nature will help you achieve that.  For us it’s about protecting our natural resources for our children, for yours and future generations.  It makes so much more sense to prevent environmental damage than to try and clean it up.  This is about raising awareness and getting others involved.  We know this won’t be easy, but for us it’s a labor of love.  By documenting this cross country journey on film and in photographs will be able to capture Canada’s awesome beauty and allow others to see it, fall in love with it and help us protect it.   Visit our Facebook, Twitter and websites to get more information – please help us get the word out!

Happy Trails! 

Meet Pompom the Canadian Voyageur's Navigator

For the last seven years, we have brought our sable fox Pomeranian on all our camping, backpacking, and kayaking trips. We would not be able to leave him behind, he lives for the outdoors.  Our little dog is the most happy when he is off leash in the wilderness freely exploring his surroundings.  He has his own flotation jacket; he likes to ride at the stern most times and so we've given him the assignment of Canoe Navigator. 

Pompom has another reason he wants to come along though - he has an important message for the children all over the world.  Pompom wants to show kids how much fun it is play outside:

If you are like Pompom, then you know how much fun you can have camping, canoeing, kayaking, backpacking, swimming, chasing squirrels....  no, no, no, no - Pompoms are not allowed to chase squirrels!!!! (sometimes he gets distracted....)

Pompom wants kids to know that protecting nature is their job too.  It's everybody's responsibility to do their part - our natural resources need to be protected so that children and grown ups and puppies everywhere can go outside and play!  We all need clean water to drink, clean air to breathe and

Pompom is going to join his masters on the Cross Canada Canoe Expedition as Canada's new Let's Play Outside Mascot.