The new Alpine Horizons Research Initiative will help us understand how climate change and increased recreational use are affecting the fragile alpine ecosystems of our Sea to Sky Corridor.
The team includes researchers and staff from UVic, SFU, UBC, the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, and BC Parks. The goal of this five-year project is to help stewards of the land make informed management decisions.
The partners have already been working together for several years. Biology professors Brian Starkomski (UVic) and John Reynolds (SFU) collaborated with BC Parks to establish the use of iNaturalist at their universities. UBC has since joined the effort. As part of this work, grad students based at a remote cabin at Garibaldi Lake have been contributing iNaturalist observations. While most of the species documented have been plants, some have been animals, and these observations have provided data for the Wildlife Connectivity Project.
You can help too! If you visit the alpine, take the time to photograph what you see and share it by using iNaturalist.
Read more about Alpine Horizons.
Photo: View from Blanca Peak, by Judith Holm