Calgarians young and old went up and down the Bow Tower on Saturday to celebrate Earth Day and all the vital work being done by the Alberta Wilderness Association.
The annual Climb for the Wilderness helps support the organization fund all their work throughout the year.
“We celebrate it because it’s Earth Day and we have a lot of wilderness in Alberta that should be celebrated. It’s really awesome,” said Joanna Skrajny, a conservation specialist with the AWA.
She says that the event also helps raise awareness about the organization and Earth Day is the perfect day to hold it.
“Earth Day used to be an event where university students gathered together, spoke up and raised their voice. We’ve sort of carried on that tradition by allowing the Calgary public to come out and celebrate something special that we’ve got.”
Some of the participants of the climb have been doing it for years, like 101-year-old Richard Guy.
Guy has been participating in the climb since its inception 27 years ago.
“We’ve always done it. I wanted to show support for a clean planet.”
This year, he only completed five floors of the climb but last year he did the whole thing. Guy says his inspiration comes from his wife, who died in 2010, but participated with him while she was alive.
“My wife has always been an inspiration for me. She was a wonderful person.”
Skrajny says stories like Richard’s are great to see.
“People are really dedicated to come here year after year and it’s just really humbling to see people support the work that we do.”
The annual climb is expected to raise $100,000 for the AWA.
