Your library card has just become a passport to outdoor adventure as prospective hiking enthusiasts can now borrow from the Prince George Public Library nearly all the equipment necessary to enjoy a safe day in the woods.
You can now sign out hiking kits that come with a backpack, hiking poles, headlamps, a first aid kit, a compass, an emergency bivvy sack, a local hiking guidebook, and a packing guide/trip planning reminder.
The kits are made possible through a partnership with BC Parks and follow on a event held in June at West Lake Provincial Park to encourage new Canadians to get outside. They were paid for through sales and renewals of the BC Parks licence plates.
"British Columbians are lucky to have access to beautiful trails," said BC Parks’ Northern Community Liaison Officer Natasha Ewing. "The hiking kits are a wonderful initiative to inspire people to get outside and connect with nature, while providing the basic equipment needed to do it safely. With more than 340 parks and protected areas in the north alone, there is no shortage of amazing places to explore."
PGPL communications manager Jen Rubadeau said the kits are a "great compliment" to the other items the PGPL has on offer to encourage borrowers to get outside and discover new things. They include birdwatching backpacks and telescopes, not to mention less-outdoorsy tech and building kits, cognitive care kits, and ukuleles and other music makers.
"We also offer library users unique ways to experience the outdoors at their own pace with our Nature Walk Storytimes," Rubdeau added.
