Enbridge Inc, a Calgary-based oil and gas company has proposed the construction of a 1,170 km pipeline running from Alberta’s tar sands to Kitimat on British Columbia’s west coast. From here, crude oil would be loaded into super tankers bound for Asia. Before reaching the open ocean, these tankers would first need to pass through some of the most dangerous navigable waters in the world―the narrow inlets of the Great Bear Rainforest.
In 2010 Norm Hann paddled the 400km proposed tanker route. In 2011, Norm will lead an evolving posse of athletes passionate about both stand up paddleboarding and the environment along the same route. With support from First Nations communities the crew will spend a month paddling the pristine inlets of the Great Bear Rainforest.
Through b4apres Media’s unique style of mashing adventure with real world issues, “Stand” will take you into the heart of the largest temperate rainforest on the planet―the Great Bear. Captured in cinematic High Definition, the film will bring the Enbridge Pipeline debate into the the collective consciousness in a way that will have you fishing in your basement for that old fluorescent wetsuit.
The Great Bear Rainforest, located on the North Coast of British Columbia makes up 25% of the world’s remaining intact temperate rainforest. Roughly the size of Ireland, the Great Bear is one of the planet’s rarest forest ecosystems. It is also the traditional territory of 28 First Nations whose histories, identities and spirituality are inextricably linked to the landscape and wildlife.
