Friends of Wabakimi

12/28/2024

2024 Wabakimi Highlights

* Caribou Survey Project Year 1. After receiving a large Ontario grant, a project manager was hired and the first group of volunteers conducted three surveys. More surveys are planned for 2025 and 2026.

* Flindt River Portage Improvements, were made by park rangers, and expanded with FOW donations, following the 2023 wildfires.

* 2024 Webinar Series: The Winisk River: A Great Northern Adventure. Fires in Wabakimi 2023. Caribou Chronicles-Year One. I-Naturalist in the Field.

* 2025 Outdoors Shows. In 2024 we were at Canoecopia, Toronto and Iowa Paddlefest. In 2025 we'll be at:
Iowa PaddleFest – Jan 4
Hamilton Adventure Expo –Jan 25
Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show – Feb 21-23
Quiet Adventures Symposium (Lansing, MI) – March 1
CanoeCopia – March 7-9
Ottawa Outdoor Adventure Show- April 26, 27

See us there in person to talk about Wabakimi, wilderness paddling, and our conservation efforts!

Four new Canadian FOW Board members: Petra Nikolau, Corey Dagenais, Lindsey David, Kristen Setala.

Sept. Board Planning Meeting...more to come on this!

2024 Photo & Video Contest. Our third contest once again produced stunning images and videos. See them all here!

Photos
1st Place: Derek So / The Incoming Storm (above)
2nd Place: Maggie Bennedsen / Smoothrock Falls
3rd Place: Rick Galezowski / Early Morning Sun on the Kopka River

Videos:
1st Place: Derek So_WABAKIMI / Experience Boreal Forest Magic
2nd Place: Andrew Ross / Self-guided solo canoe trip through Wabakimi
3rd Place: Alex Kvanli / The Boys

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2024 FOW PHOTO/VIDEO CONTEST WINNERS!! Thanks for all the entries! So many great photos and videos. Photo Winners 1st Place: ...

12/19/2024

https://youtu.be/3837j4Ks_6U

Fundraising and Volunteer help needed!(More info at www.wabakimi.org) --Wabakimi Provincial Park to clean up the mess at Shultz’s Trail, a popular entry poin...

12/09/2024

🌟 Thanks to everyone who has donated to our 2024/2025 Park Project so far! This fundraiser will continue into the new year, so please consider donating if you haven’t already done so.

⚠️Here are more photos from the Schultz’s Trail entry point. This debris is an eyesore and a hazard to paddlers beginning or ending their trip here.

✈️We are partnering with Parks staff to send volunteers in to help clean up and remove this debris. Due to the scale of the mess, it is not possible to haul this garbage out by rail. It will require at least three large capacity Otter float planes to haul out.

🌟Our goal is $10,000 CAD. Help us reach our goal by donating today!

📍Have you been to the Schultz’s Trail landing? We’d love to hear your experience.

DONATE HERE: https://www.wabakimi.org/donate-2024-project.html

11/24/2024

2024/2025 Park Project Fundraiser Request!

Giving Tuesday is coming up soon on December 3rd. Please help us support Wabakimi Provincial Park. This is our main donation request this year!

We're asking for your donation to help support Wabakimi Provincial Park’s and FOW’s ongoing debris clean-up efforts. Our initial goal is to raise $10,000 CAD.

The target this year is the mess at Shultz’s Trail, a popular entry point just off the Via Rail line and Onamakawash Lake (pronounced Oh-na-maw-kay'-wush). A complex of three abandoned structures with debris, broken glass, metal fragments along this portage is a visual eyesore and a hazard to paddlers beginning or ending a canoe trip.

It is not possible to haul this garbage out by rail. It will require at least three large capacity Otter float plane flights to bring out a significant amount of the debris along the trail. These flights will cost $2,500 (CAD) each. We’re also discussing a FOW volunteer effort to assist the cleanup.

Eligible Canadian donors can receive a charitable donation tax receipt for donations over $25 by contributing through Canada Helps. See our Donations page for more details!

Members, check your email inbox for the full fundraiser request!

Dear Wabakimi friends, Your Donations to FOW support the following: ​ 1) 2024/2025 Shultz’s Trail Cleanup. Park Project in cooperation with Wabakimi Provincial Park 2) KZ Lodge...

11/22/2024

Ken Babinchak has shared his collection of Phil Cotton and The Wabakimi Project memories. It's time for a check-in. Please if you were on the Project, say something in the comments. If you weren't we welcome those too. There's a vigorous Friends of Wabakimi because of Phil's vision. Phil left us in May 2018, but our efforts go on; and especially now with our Caribou Project and our efforts with Wabakimi Provincial Park. Much thanks to Vern Fish and our Board of Directors.

A video dedicated to hardworking people who contributed to the efforts of The Wabakimi Project, and its founder Phil Cotton. From 2005 through 2018 teams of ...

11/20/2024

Please take a look at our FOW Newletter:
November 19, 2024 Issue
https://www.wabakimi.org/current-newsletter.html
In This Issue:
--2024/2025 Park Project Fundraiser: Schultz's Trail
--Photo and Video Contest Results
--Wabakimi Caribou Citizen Monitoring Project: Year 1
--FOW and Wabakimimaps.com

11/18/2024

Caribou Chronicles: Year 1 Insights, Achievements and Results
Nov. 17th Webinar. Presenter: Kate Prince, Caribou Project Manager. Photo collage at the beginning. Webinar starts at 4:33. Go to www. wabakimi. org for more info about the project. 24 participants are needed for Year Two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6y6UMjv8rw

11/17/2024

Join us tonight for our first webinar of the season! See the details for the zoom meeting below.

​Zoom Details:

Meeting ID: 813 7241 5875
Meeting Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81372415875

11/14/2024

Webinar Reminder! We look forward to seeing you on Sunday evening.

11/11/2024

2024 Photo / Video Contest Results are in! 🎉👏🏼

The # 1 winner for both categories was Derek So. His photo “The Incoming Storm” took the lead, as well as his beautiful video “WABAKIMI- Experience Boreal Forest Magic”.

📸 Photo Contest Winners:
1st Place: Derek So, The Incoming Storm
2nd Place: Maggie Bennedsen, Smoothrock Falls
3rd Place: Rick Galezowski, Early Morning Sun on the Kopka River

🎥 Video Contest Winners:
1st Place: Derek So, WABAKIMI - Experience Boreal Forest Magic
2nd Place: Andrew Ross, Self-guided solo canoe trip through Wabakimi
3rd Place: Alex Kvanli, The Boys

Here are the winning photos. You can visit our website to see all of the submissions and links to the contest videos.

Thanks to all who participated and voted!

11/05/2024

The days are getting shorter and colder which can only mean one thing.. it is webinar season!

Join us on November 17th for our first webinar of the season: Caribou Chronicles: Year 1 Insights, Achievements and Results. 🌲🦌

Join us as we present the results of the inaugural year of the Wabakimi Boreal Caribou Citizen Monitoring Project! We’ll highlight our activities, achievements, and challenges and lessons learned from this first year. Experience the project through photos and videos that showcase our efforts and our findings in the effort to document Boreal caribou in the Wabakimi area. See how FOW is contributing to caribou conservation efforts, and take advantage of the opportunity to ask your questions about the project.

Date: Sunday November 17, 2024
Time: 6:00 pm CST / 7:00 pm EST
Presenter: Kate Prince, Caribou Project Manager
Zoom Link will be shared on the date of the webinar.

11/04/2024

The 2024 FOW Photo/Video Contest has ended! Now it’s time for FOW members to vote for their favorites.

Go to https://www.wabakimi.org/2024-photo--video-contest.html to view all photos and videos.

Decide which 5 photos and which 1 video you want to vote for (you may want to jot down the name of the photo).

Don’t forget to hit the Submit button after choosing the photos/videos! (Videos are on a separate page)!

Check your email for the link to the voting page.

Voting available now and ends November 9th. The winners will be announced on November 10th!

Thanks to everyone for your impressive submissions!

Announcing! The 2024 Photo/Video Contest Begins... Wabakimi Photo Contest Guidelines 2024 Wabakimi Video Contest Guidelines 2024 Wabakimi Photo Video Contest Entry Release 2024 The...