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Here's how you can prevent backyard bears this fall in Prince George

Don't attract bruins by leaving unpicked apples on the ground
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Fall is bear season in Prince George and Northern B.C.. (via Pixabay)

While fall may the season or cosy sweaters and pumpkin spice, it’s also bear season.

As the leaves begin to change colours, bears and wildlife are busy getting ready for winter, looking for anything and everything to eat. This can lead to problems when they start coming into people’s neighbourhoods and backyards in search of food.

But many groups throughout Prince George are doing their part to raise awareness and help solve the problem.

“We wanted to do something to help with animal awareness in Prince George, particularly, awareness in the fall, which we know is a continual issue with some years having upward of 100 bears destroyed because they are coming into human-populated areas,” says Doug Bell, owner and operator of Northern Lights Estate Winery.

Four years ago they partnered with the Northern Bear Awareness Society to help collect and use the unpicked apples from fruit trees around Prince George.

“We wanted to do something special with northern fruit that created a northern flavour that was specific to our area,” says Bell.

“The program flourished and in the first three years, we collected over 40,000 pounds of apples. Now, going into our fourth year, we are continuing to collect even more of apples every single year.”

The apples are used to produce the winery’s Lumiere Blanche, which is an aromatic rich wine with a little bit of a citrus on the finish and is created with over 20 varieties of northern apples.

Bell says the program is a win-win.

“It’s s a win for the community because there’s something made out of the apples that they couldn’t currently use; for the animals, they stay out of the area so they are safe; and for us, we are able to make a wine that is well recognized all across British Columbia.”

The winery has been collecting apples for the last three weeks and as apples start to over-ripen, they will only be accepting apples until Sept. 16.

Apples can be dropped off at the winery during operational hours, and for every pound donated, Northern Lights will also make a donation to the Northern Bear Awareness Society.

The winery also has a small team of apple pickers to help individuals who are elderly, or who have mobility issues, and can’t pick the apples themselves.

The Northern Bear Awareness Society also operates the Prince George Fruit Exchange Facebook group, which act as a platform for PG residents to exchange fruit, and keep the source of bear attractants at a minimal level. 

Gillian Sanders, who founded an organization called Grizzly Bear Coexistence Solutions, is also helping locals keep the bears away from their crops and fruit trees.

She has worked in the field of grizzly bear conservation for 15 years and wrote her master's thesis on coexisting with grizzly bears in her home community of Meadow Creek in the West Kooteneys.

Now she’s coming to Prince George and Vanderhoof, to teach property owners how to build electric fences that keep bears and people safe in the fall.

“I can set up a variety of different types of fences, whether it is a permanent design that might be applicable to farm yards, small livestock pens, or an orchard and temporary fences that might be more applicable to people’s yards,” says Sanders, noting her goal is for everyone to leave with the knowledge of how to set up an effective electric fence.

The workshop will have an indoor component where she will show slides of different of designs that she has constructed. There's also an outdoor component where participants will set up a temporary demonstration fence that could be applicable to protect backyard fruit trees.  

“I’m a beekeeper myself and I started using electric fencing to protect my own hives and small livestock and I’ve learned how keeping bears out of these agricultural attractants is a benefit to myself as a producer and a benefit to the bears by keeping them out of trouble,” says Sanders.

The workshop is free for everyone and will take place Sept. 14 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Spruce City Wildlife Association at 1348 River Rd.

In Vanderhoof, it will take place Sept. 15 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Braeside Community Hall.