70 - Parks for Tomorrow

About this episode

This episode explores a 1977 protest in Banff focused on environmental protection and media engagement.

This episode: Parks for Tomorrow. We’re going to look at one protest in Banff on a drizzly October day in 1977. And we’re going to peek behind the scenes to see how and why organizers tried to get media attention. We’re sharing three stories about Albertan environmental groups and journalists way back in the 70s. It's part two of our mini-series… You Can Change the World! Or… Why Would I Talk to You? Parks for Tomorrow was a coalition of scientists and environmental groups from across Canada who came together to protect national parks from commercial exploitation. Most urgently, they wanted to stop expansion of the Sunshine Village ski resort in Banff, and cattle grazing and haycutting in Waterton and Prince Albert National Parks. Their campaign was centred around a march down the streets of Banff on October 23, 1977. The Parks for Tomorrow demands were endorsed by conservation groups from across Canada who said they represented over 750,000 members. The ground-level organizing work was done by a small group of volunteers, many from the Banff-based Bow Valley Naturalists. We went through Bow Valley Naturalists’ records at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies to learn why they…

People in this episode

Host: Chris Chang-Yen Phillips

Topics covered

• environment
• protest
• history
• activism
• media

Keywords

• Parks for Tomorrow
• Banff
• environmental groups
• media attention
• Bow Valley Naturalists

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The Taproot Mini

Books & works: You Can Change the World!, Let's Find Out: About the Whale Society of Edmonton, Let's Find Out

Places: Banff, Canada, Waterton, Bow Valley, Edmonton, Alberta, Old Strathcona, the French Quarter, Ortona

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