On Thursday, February 24 at 7 p.m. at the Slocan Park Hall, Slocan Valley Recreation is pleased to invite every one to experience The Bear Necessities. Join the “Bear Lady” Evelyn Kirkaldy, as she offers a peek into the intimate life of bears and their behaviour through photographs and stories that are guaranteed to amaze, amuse and educate. Kirkaldy has travelled through bear country from Alaska through various destinations along the B.C. coast, northeast to Churchill, Manitoba and down to a research facility in Minnesota. Hear about how a grizzly cub came to be known as Bouncer and about building an igloo in polar bear country. How she spent ten days in a tree house surrounded by 16 wild grizzly bears observing the antics and social interactions of these amazing and highly intelligent creatures. As an added treat, Kirkaldy has included some of the artwork that was inspired by her adventures, her passion for bears and the natural world. “With my paintings I try to capture the essence of the landscape, the feeling of living in nature. A forest is not just trees, it’s a metropolis teeming with wildlife,” she says. Tips on bear safety in Kootenay bear country will be emphasized and you are encouraged to bring questions. Kirkaldy is the Lower Valley coordinator for the Slocan Valley Bear Smart program and an advisor for the Get Bear Smart Society, BC’s pilot program for human/bear conflict management. See bearsmart.com Admission by donation. If planning to attend, please contact Slocan Valley Recreation at 250-226-0008.