Bow Valley kids picking berries to keep bears away from G7

Nick Murray · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 24, 2025 11:59 AM EDT | Last Updated: May 24

There surely won't beryllium lions oregon tigers astatine the G7 acme successful Kananaskis, Alta., next month, and officials are doing their champion to support bears away, too.

As galore arsenic 5,000 participants are acceptable to descend connected the country successful a fewer weeks, and officials are already moving to instal information barriers and wide retired the country of thing that mightiness pull bears to support some radical and the animals safe.

Earlier this week much than 200 section kids began plucking buffaloberry bushes astir Kananaskis to detract bears from venturing into the area.

The agleam reddish berries are rather fashionable with bears.

"The buffaloberries haven't been cleared retired of the country successful and astir Kananaskis Village for astir 15 years. So there's rather a batch of them," said Trevor Julian, the enforcement manager of Friends of Kananaskis Country.

The non-profit, which chiefly maintains trails astir the area, was approached by Global Affairs Canada past twelvemonth for ideas connected however to assistance with the biology sustainability of the summit.

Removing the buffaloberry bushes was their idea.

"That's what we'd suggested to them, that it would beryllium a worthwhile enactment to do. It would, one, person the imaginable to trim human-wildlife conflict, but besides to prosecute the nationalist and students successful it," Julian said.

The students, on with a Scouts Canada radical from Calgary, took 3 days this week pulling the bushes close down to their roots — arsenic the berries haven't bloomed yet. They person different 4 days of enactment lined up for adjacent week, and different 3 days the archetypal week of June.

"We reached retired to schools to spot who was funny successful participating, doing immoderate service, learning a spot much astir the biology and wildlife conflict," Julian said.

Bear killed astatine G8

The efforts to minimize the wildlife-human interaction astatine the acme travel aft immoderate lessons learned successful 2002, erstwhile Kananaskis hosted what was past known arsenic the G8 summit, earlier Russia was expelled.

In 2002, a carnivore ventured excessively adjacent to leaders successful a histrion and was tranquilized.

"They changeable [it] so it would autumn into a nett past beryllium moved to a harmless place," said John Kirton, a governmental subject prof and the manager of the G7 Research Group astatine the University of Toronto.

"But [the bear] missed, fell to the crushed and died."

Officials from Alberta's Ministry of Public Safety besides person plans to erect fencing astir carnivore attractants, arsenic good arsenic electrical fencing to support bears out.

"Wildlife is expected to beryllium contiguous successful the surrounding environment, and the superior absorption volition beryllium connected the prevention of immoderate adjacent encounters betwixt wildlife and the event's cardinal facilities oregon areas frequented by attendees," said Sheena Campbell, the manager of communications for the ministry.

"Staff person and proceed to supply guidance connected the improvement of strict protocols for managing nutrient attractants, ensuring that these attractants are decently stored and disposed of to forestall immoderate accidental attraction of wildlife."

Julian said delegates volition besides person a clang people connected wildlife awareness.

"Training the delegates — you know, radical who aren't utilized to being successful carnivore state wherever you're fundamentally among grizzly bears and achromatic bears — what's the champion things you tin bash to debar struggle and past besides what you should carry. For example, carnivore spray if you're retired successful the wilderness and things similar that," Julian said.

"So training's being provided to radical astir the league arsenic good truthful they're amended prepared to woody with those kinds of things."