In 2013 Thompson Rivers University will open the Wells Gray TRU Wilderness Center for outdoor learning and research in the Clearwater Valley. To celebrate this event there will be a year-long series of guided tours, hikes, field courses, lectures, and children’s events, all on the theme of wilderness research and learning in the Clearwater Valley and Wells Gray Provincial Park. Events for the fall are–

*Saturday, September 1 –Wells Gray World Heritage Year will kick off with Dr. Cathie Hickson, an internationally respected volcanologist. Join her for a guided bus and walking tour of the volcanic history of the Clearwater Valley. The bus leaves TRU at 9:30 AM, and the charge of $70 covers the tour, bagged lunch and dinner. For more information or to sign up please contact Dr. Tom Dickinson, tdickinson@tru.ca or call 250-828-5400. Or meet at the Wells Gray Info center in Clearwater, 11 AM, to join the coach;cost would be $45.

* Sunday, September 9– Ring of Clear Water: The Fishes of Wells Gray. Fisheries biologist Steve Maricle will lead an outing to Bailey’s Chute to watch the Chinook as they attempt the Rapids.

*Sunday, October 7 – Mind of the Deer: Pioneer Ways in the Clearwater Valley. Naturalist, Trevor Goward, will lead an afternoon hike along the original valley road from First to Third Canyon.

*Sunday, October 21 – Pioneer School Days. Join three Valley residents at the Upper Clearwater School for an afternoon of reminiscences of schooldays in a one– room schoolhouse.

*Saturday, November 10 – Exploring Wells Gray the Way it Used to Be. Storyteller, Frank Ritcey, will show a film about the Wells Gray Park that most people don’t know about.
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*Saturday, November 17 – Bringing Wells Gray’s Past Online. This afternoon is a workbee to transcribe some of the old papers and wildlife reports written on Wells Gray Park half a century ago, making this information accessible online.

All programs are being offered free of charge or by donation, except for the coach tour on September 1. For more information or to sign up, please contact Dr. Tom Dickinson at tdickinson@tru.ca or call 250-828 -5400. Space is limited so please register early.