MEDIA RELEASE www.banffcentre.ca

January 31, 2001

Apply Now for Mountain Project Grants

Application packages are now available for the 2001 Banff Centre for Mountain Culture Mountain Grants program. This year the Mountain Grants program will award a total of $23,000 to projects that creatively communicate the special nature and culture of the world’s mountain places.

"We are delighted to support these projects," says Bernadette McDonald, director of the Centre, located in the Canadian Rockies. "They represent a range of ways to make connections among people and mountain areas around the world." Last year, a selection committee reviewed 39 grant applications from 10 countries, and awarded grants to six projects.

Previous grant recipients have included a vertical dance project, a field guide for Nepalese national park staff, a book on the ice caves of the Canadian Rockies, a hikers’ guide to the wilderness sections of the Great Wall of China, and an interactive CD-ROM about Mt Logan—among many others.

Individuals or organizations from any country may apply for grants up to $5000 to fund projects that interpret the environment, natural history, human heritage, arts, philosophy, lifestyle, and/or adventure, in and of the mountains. Proposals should include a communication component (film, literature, photography, etc.) that brings the project before a public audience.

Applications are available from the Banff Centre for Mountain Culture: phone 1-800-298-1229, or e-mail mountainculture@banffcentre.ca or visit www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/ The deadline for 2001 Mountain Grants applications is June 30, 2001.