Yesterday we traveled on the Trans-Canada Highway to our home for the next full week in Edgewater, British Columbia just minutes from Kootenay National Park and Radium Hot Springs. Journeying this route provided opportunity to see the amazing wildlife crossing structures and fencing implemented here since 1996 on nearly 51 miles of highway, which is the longest on-going research and monitoring program of this nature in the world. It was such an incredible reflection of more conscious awareness and compassion for how our choices affect the whole.

I wasn’t aware of this project until Dave told me about it and that we’d be seeing it on our drive, although always wondered with all of my travels why no measures are taken other than lowering speed limits to help wildlife that we’ve taken land and migration patterns away from with our roads and building.

We both loved this and I snapped some photos of the fencing and one overpass we crossed under which was cool to see since there are only 6 of these. We also journeyed over a few tunnel underpasses of which there are 38 of these.

I love that this came about not just thinking of how expanding from two lanes to four on the highway could benefit people traveling it, but that simultaneously they thought of how to minimize effects on surrounding wildlife and to curb the high rate of wildlife mortality and wildlife-vehicle collisions.

I feel this collective way of looking at things and how our choices will affect the greater whole, which includes all of life, is so refreshing and one we will continue to see with shifts we are moving more into.

While disrupting the animals in general isn’t such a great thing in my opinion since we are taking away their normal migration patterns and routes creating dangers they didn’t once have to face, at least it’s refreshing to see more thought put into helping them and living more harmoniously with less impact.

Everything is, and is in, an evolution.

But I do love seeing more conscious awareness about how to find better ways to live in harmony with all of life.

This conscious highway was a result of scientists and transportation planners looking into ways to create a better situation and they made it top priority to continue to monitor and track animal movement.

The solution they came up with includes nearly 8 foot tall sturdy, quality fencing along both sides of the highway, and wildlife under and overpasses to connect the vital habitats by allowing crossing access.

The overpasses are quite cool, as they’ve been created to match the landscape around with trees, grasses, and vegetation to make a natural bridge for them.These are also designed so that the animals can’t see the highway when crossing.

Each individual overpass cost over a million dollars each.

Now that’s compassionate investing.

Motion sensitive cameras are set up to monitor the success of these implementations and to track the effects it is having.

You can read 10 quick facts about the highway wildlife crossings at the link below, which includes this one that deserves big yay’s:

“Highway fencing in Banff National Park has reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by more than 80% and, for elk and deer alone by more than 96%.”

Here’s the link:

10 Quick Facts About The Highway Wildlife Crossings in Banff National Park

The drive was gorgeous and infused more hope and belief in the compassion within humanity to try to find ways to return things to greater balance and harmony.

We did actually see one deer inside the edge of the fencing and I smiled knowing she was safe.

I also was feeling back in my energetic flow merging with nature abound after leaving the big city and had gratitude for this more conscious merging I saw around me in reflection.