Media Release

For immediate release
January 31, 2006

Banff Mountain Grants Program to fund projects on mountain landscape, culture, ecology

Filmmakers, photographers, adventurers, scientists and writers from around the world are invited to apply for a share of $15,000 (CDN) in funding from The Banff Centre’s 2006 Banff Mountain Grants program. The grants, sponsored by Mountain HardWear, support projects that bring stories of mountain ecology, adventure, inspiration, and culture to a broad public audience.

Individuals or organizations may apply for grants of up to $5000 to fund projects that creatively interpret the environment, natural history, human heritage, arts, philosophy, lifestyle, and adventure, in and of the mountains. Projects must include a communications component (such as film, literature or photography) that brings the project to a public audience.

“Every year, we look forward to the broad range of creative projects that show up in applications,” says Leslie Taylor, associate director, Mountain Culture.

Last year, Mountain Culture at The Banff Centre selected nine projects to receive grants, including an educational media campaign called Nature’s Reflections by Catherine Cunningham of Zurich, Switzerland, a film by Michael Schmitz of Namche Bazar, Nepal, on traditional Nepalese medicine and the conservation of high altitude medicinal plants, an Illustrated Atlas of the Himalaya by David Zurick of Richmond, Kentucky, and a photography and video project on a solo climbing expedition to Antarctica’s Queen Maud Land by Mike Libecki of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Guidelines and application forms for the 2006 Banff Mountain Grants program are available on the Banff Centre website at http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/grants/. The deadline for applications is June 1, 2006. For more information, e-mail mountainculture@banffcentre.ca, or phone 1-800-298-1229 (toll-free North America), or 1-403-762-6675.