Events

Whether you are living, hiking, camping, fishing, or hunting in bear country, or working in an industry that requires you to work in bear country, you need to be aware of what to do in the event of a bear sighting or encounter.

Mountain View BearSmart Society volunteers are able to deliver presentations to the public and industry on the BearSmart program, bear and cougar biology, and human/wildlife safety. We can customize a presentation to any grade level for your school, to your employees in the office or the field, or to your community group. The quality of our presentations has been upgraded by the purchase of new audio/visual equipment through the generous funding of the Community Spirit Program from Alberta Culture and Community Spirit.

Mountain View BearSmart Society also offers certificates in Bear Awareness Training. Learn how best to handle a bear encounter using the knowledge and experiences of experts from the field. Our Chairman, Paul Fraser, is a certified Professional Biologist (Alberta Society of Professional Biologists) and a certified Bear Awareness Instructor (Accident Incident Prevention). He has over 30 years experience as a wildlife biologist, specializing in working with large mammals. He is able to conduct Bear Awareness Training to provide the most recent available information on bear identification, avoidance, and awareness for members of the public and industry alike. This course, which is CSA and SUNCOR approved and AIP certified, includes both classroom theory and outdoor practical exercises (proper use of bear spray). The certificate is valid for 3 years.

If you’d like to arrange a presentation, contact us at info@mountainviewbearsmart.com

We can do in-person or Zoom presentations.

As a not-for-profit society, we do not charge for our presentations especially to schools and local community groups. We do set out a donation jar and gratefully accept any amount from those attending. For certificate courses to industry and similar organizations, please discuss a donation amount with Paul when requesting a presentation.

In addition to the presentations made to the Sundre, Cremona and Didsbury schools during our Annual Bear Awareness Week, we have done presentations to the Dickson Fish and Game Association, Sunpine Sundre, Shell Fallen Timber Plant, Shell Caroline Plant, Cottonwood Cougars Junior Forest Wardens, Milestone Oilfield Services, Olds Search and Rescue, Didsbury Search and Rescue, Brazeau County Search and Rescue, Mountain View County employee health and safety day, Bergen Springs Community Association, Sundre Hiking Club, Wild Sheep Foundation youth camp, ConocoPhillips Safety Meeting, Bergen Cub Jamboree, Cochrane Humane Society Kids Camp, Village of Burnstick Lake, Foster Parents Alberta summer camp, Olds Holy Trinity Catholic School, schools in Rocky Mountain House, the Sundre Library Summer Reading Club, Innisfail Junior Forest Wardens, Bergen 4-H, Alberta Mycological Society, Campground Operators, Condor school, Legacy Land Trust Society, Bighorn First Nation, Sundre Chamber of Commerce, Hardindell Community, Cochrane Girl Guides, Geocaching group in Cochrane, Certus Oil in Eckville, Nordegg Community Association, Rocky Mountain House community, Caroline community, Cochrane Search and Rescue, Bearberry community.

We also set up our display booth and distribute educational materials at many annual events: Winterfest in February in Sundre, Aggie Days MVC in May in Carstairs,  SPOG’s Neighbour Day in August in Sundre, Leslieville Block Party in September. Past events included Mountain View & Big Horn County’s Predator Workshops in Cremona, Safety Day in Rocky Mountain House, Rural Crime Watch Trade Show in Olds, and Recreational Stewardship Fair in Nordegg.