Media Centre

Press Releases - 2010

Canada’s Boreal region’s rich resources include an impressive pool of Olympians

 

Ottawa, February 25, 2010 – Canada’s Boreal region provides a huge training ground for Canada’s Olympians. The Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI) has produced an interactive map that displays the hometown of all the Boreal Olympians taking part in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

Through this interactive map, you can see athletes whose homes are in the Boreal region:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=111334190607822450363.00047f57541f134871976.

Many of these athletes seem to choose their sport based on available resources and the region’s climate, perfect for practicing winter disciplines.

Here is an overview of the athletes, their sports, and their provinces.

Covering an area of 1.4 billion acres (574 million hectares), or 35% of Canada’s landmass, our Boreal region contains one of the last great intact forests on Earth. Delineated by the northern tundra and grasslands and hardwood forest in the south, it represents 77% of Canadian forests.

In an increasingly industrialized world, Canada’s Boreal forest provides a breath of fresh air. This forest ecosystem, with its many lakes and wetlands, regulates our climate, produce oxygen, and purifies the water we drink. It is the source of life and home for indigenous peoples and thousands of species of animals, birds, plants, and insects. It is an amazingly powerful ecosystem.

For more information, see www.borealcanada.ca.

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The Canadian Boreal Initiative (BCI) brings together diverse partners to create new solutions for Boreal Forest conservation and works as a catalyst supporting on-the-ground efforts across the Boreal by governments, industry, First Nations, conservation groups, major retailers, financial institutions and scientists.

Suzanne Fraser
Canadian Boreal Initiative
613-552-7277
sfraser<at>borealcanada ca