Becoming Rockies Rangers: Where learning and exploration go hand-in-hand

In this week’s episode, The Weather Network's reporter Mia Gordon and her trusty sidekick Max are on another adventure, traveling to the beautiful Canadian Rockies, where they are going to learn how to become Rockies Rangers.

The new Pursuit Collections Rockies Rangers program spans across their seven attractions in Banff, Jasper, and Golden.

At each of the locations, little explorers start by picking up a field guide—there are three different ones based on age ranges. Kids then follow a different animal and have different activities and games that help them discover the wildlife, landscapes, and stories that make each destination unique. Once they have completed their booklet, they can earn a unique badge at each location.

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We started our journey at Canada’s first National Park, Banff, Alberta. We followed Aurora the Bear up the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain. When you get to the top, you are spoiled to 360-degree views of six different mountain ranges as well as the beautiful Bow Valley and town of Banff.

(The Weather Network)

Max started his ranger journey at the Interpretive Centre, featuring interactive exhibits that help kids, young and old, learn all about local wildlife, alpine geology, and regional history. After that, we took a one-kilometre boardwalk to see Sanson’s Peak and the historic Weather Station.

Our Rangers checklist focused on protecting the beautiful flora and fauna that make this place so unique, like giving wildlife space and throwing out garbage—a fun way to teach kids how to protect the places we love to explore. And here Max earned his first Rangers badge.

Our second stop was to a true treasure hunt at Banff’s largest lake, Lake Minnewanka. Here we followed Tilly the Trout to learn more about the lake, which actually means “Lake of Spirits” by the Stoney Nakoda First Nations. This massive lake is 21 kilometres long and reaches depths of 142 metres deep.

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One of the most interesting facts about this lake is that an actual Ghost town is buried deep beneath the waters. The Resort Village of Minnewanka Landing includes cabins and hotels, and is now a famous scuba diving destination.

Here we learned how to be true park protectors by never throwing anything into the lake and recycling in the park, and earned our second badge.

(The Weather Network)

Our third and final stop we drove across the border lines back to British Columbia and the Golden Skybridge. Here we put on our brave bones, as Max likes to call them, and followed Moberly the Eagle across Canada’s highest suspension bridge. The bridge soars 130 metres in the sky, sweeping over a beautiful canyon and Hospital Creek Falls. You also get a stunning view of both the Rockies and Purcell Mountain ranges.

Here we were challenged to be Canyon Champions by feeling the canyon winds and staying on the trails to protect fragile ecosystems and earn our third and final badge.

Max was so proud to earn his badges, and as official Rockies Rangers, we learned that taking care of our planet makes us superhero stewards of the land, protecting every tree, trail, and creature for future explorers.

So pack your curiosity, tie up your adventure shoes, and join us next time in the Wildest Classroom, where the world is your chalkboard and nature is your teacher!