May long weekend is nearly upon us. With the province's recent tightening of COVID-19 restrictions, chances are most Albertans will be outside for as much of the three-day break as they can.
For many, May long is the kickoff to camping season, picnics, kayaking, nature walks, hikes, and fishing trips. Gutsy gardeners will try to sneak in bedding plants and vegetables early in the hopes of a slightly longer growing season.
People craving time away who can't book vacations will look to our ever-accessible landscape to satisfy those holiday cravings.
In the absence of so many other activities since the pandemic began, little has been more apparent than our need for nature. Residents have been hitting the great outdoors in literal droves, but along with that comes an increased impact on our treasured green spaces.
Our growing love for nature is not without the heavy consequences that can bring.
And by the looks of it, this year will be an onslaught like no other.
We caught a glimpse of just how heavy its effect will be in early March - opening day of the Alberta Parks camping reservation website - which buckled from the sheer volume of booking attempts for this season. By the end of that first day, the system confirmed 23,830 bookings, a new record, compared with 11,628 bookings the same time last year - also a record-breaking year for Alberta Parks. This was just for campsites available until June.
But it won't just be our provincial parks that feel the pressure. As campsite availability dwindles, plenty of pubic land will also play host to the surge. Setting up on Crown land presents a new set of risks to inexperienced back-woods campers, wildlife, and surrounding forests and habitat.
Those used to dumping refuse in bins provided by formal campgrounds will have to pack out their garbage in the backcountry. But many don't. And their trash is often left behind for others to clean up. Or worse, it isn't cleaned up at all.
There is a potentially devastating impact from each careless act: improperly stored food attracts bears and other wildlife; cutting down trees instead of burning deadfall decimates forested areas; leaving human waste behind is a biohazard and risk to clean water sources; and the most dangerous of all - there is a huge threat of wildfires from improperly extinguished or illegal campfires and careless use of all-terrain vehicles.
According to the province, of the 704 wildfires in Alberta in 2020, 88 per cent were caused by humans - 255 of that total number a result of recreational activity. In 2019, the number of fires caused from recreational activity sat at 154 out of a total of 989. Seventy-one per cent of that total number were caused by humans.
We can't afford to ignore our recreational footprint, if you will, especially as our desire to trample the roads less taken grows.
Our collective newfound passion for being outside comes with a collective responsibility.
We all must do our part.
Never has there been a better time to become better stewards of our green spaces than when so many more people are learning to enjoy them.
Let's follow the old hiking adage: Leave nothing but footsteps; take nothing but photos; kill nothing but time.
If we preserve what we love, it will be there for us to enjoy for all the years to come.
