Come see what happens when you combine three snowboarders/surfers, one veggie-oil-fuelled bus and a roadmap of BC in the film, Northern Grease, Sunday, June 22 at the Stan Hagen Theatre, North Island College, at 7 p.m.
Beyond Boarding, a collaboration of friends and snowboarders from Vancouver and Whistler, got together to raise awareness about humanitarian and environmental issues.
Led by Tamo Campos, (who is the grandson of Dr. David Suzuki), Lewis Muirhead, and David MacKinnon, the organization uses video and photos to educate the community. The thought is that while not everyone may want to watch an environmental video, you can watch an exciting snowboard video while still learning about industrial projects and how they might affect BC.
The trio lived in a camperized short-bus for six months and traveled from the coastal rainforests of northern Vancouver Island, to the toxic tailings ponds of the Alberta tar sands, to the snows and rivers of the Sacred Headwaters and beyond. They spoke with farmers, oil workers, First Nation elders, high school kids and everyone in between. They also ripped lines and caught waves, and filmed anything that moved.
"Snowboarders have an innate love for these natural places," says Campos, who is in the Global Stewardship program at Capilano University. "They play in them all the time, so they should be the ones on the front line defending them. I think it's almost like our duty. We're so fortunate to be able to play in these pristine mountains every day, and we need to take that and consider bigger issues."
Admission is by donation and the directors will be available for question and answer afterwards. For a trailer of the film see www.beyondboarding.com
This film is sponsored by the Watershed Sentinel magazine, western Canada's award winning environmental news magazine published in Comox.
— Watershed Sentinel