|
|
|
Film crew gliding across province |
|
|
Written by SCOTT STANFIELD
Citizen staff
|
|
Tuesday, 22 July 2008 |
Paragliders Leonardo Silveira, left, and Benjamin Jordan land in a field west of Prince George after filming mountain pine beetle damaged areas from the air. (Citizen photo by David Mah)
Related Items
PRINCE RUPERT
Benjamin Jordan is living his dream - in the air.
The 27-year-old Nelson man is in the process of gliding his way around B.C. by way of a propeller-driven parachute, also known as a paramotor, while filming an aerial documentary about deforestation.
Accompanied by three other members of the Above and Beyond Canada film crew, one in the air and two on the ground, Jordan touched down Tuesday in a pasture across from the Yellowhead Grove Golf Course on Highway 16 West.
His 2,000-kilometre journey began last week in Prince Rupert and is scheduled to finish Aug. 8 near his hometown. Aside from filming by ground and air, Jordan and fellow flyer Leonardo Silveira, a 30-year-old Brazilian, have been showering dead zones with seeds of alpine flowers.
The team's objective is to raise awareness around the depletion of western Canadian forests.
"Which has become really about the bug kill, because that's what matters to people around here," said Jordan, a commercial photographer/pilot.
He and Silveira are flying in parachutes powered by 110 cc lawnmower engines. Their equipment is on loan from Nirvana, a Czech paramotor and glider manufacturer.
"Another term is powered paragliding," Jordan said. "They're longer and more aerodynamic than normal parachutes. They travel faster and descend slower so they're better for distance."
Still, paramotoring has its hairy moments. Before heading into Prince George, for instance, Jordan thought it would be "easy, breezy" flying around Vanderhoof, but strong winds pushed them away from the highway and forced an unexpected visit to Telechick just west of the city.
"We're certainly blessed by the hosts that we found here. Taking good care of us."
The group is largely staying with people involved in CouchSurfing.com, of which Silveira is a founder.
The aerial project is not Jordan's first documentary. In 2006, he and three friends skateboarded 8,000 kilometres from Halifax to Vancouver to raise funds and awareness for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
"It was more cut up into mini docs for each province, whereas this is something that I'm putting together for one solid piece, documenting the month of travel and the people that we've met," he said.
While in Prince George, the group was planning to speak with staff and students from UNBC, and to attend information meetings regarding impacts to forest industry workers.
Above and Beyond Canada is affiliated with the Sierra Club of Canada.
 |
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 22 July 2008 )
|
ColumbusHotelFire_thumb.jpg "Dryer started Columbus fire: chief - A clothes dryer is believed to be the cause of the fire that destroyed the Columbus Hotel. ((PRG102)ColumbusHotelFire.jpg - 1962087)")
Subscribe to this comment's feed