Malkolm is cycling on! He is now cycling from Alaska to Washington DC, and then continuing on to the UN Climate Change conference in Cancun in December.
It all started with Bird Year, Malkolm and his parents' year-long, fossil-fuel-free journey in search of birds. Cycling a total of 13,133 miles (21,144 km), they identified 548 different bird species and raised more than $25,000 for bird conservation. Bird Year turned them into confirmed cyclists and taught them that climate change was more serious than they had thought.
In 2009, Malkolm biked from Whitehorse to Ottawa as a part of Pedal for the Planet: the project called for the Canadian Government to become a leader in the struggle to come to grips with climate change. The Harper Government did not even meet with the young cyclists.
Malkolm is now 18 and just finished high school. On August 24, he dipped his foot in the Pacific Ocean in Skagway, Alaska. Then headed up and over the White Pass to the Alaska Highway on his journey to Washington and on to Cancun.



Sunday, April 20, 2008

Migration (Malkolm)


I can sympathise with migrating songbirds on a new level now.

8 PM, April 17th I stepped into my nice, cozy tent. Around this time millions of birds took flight from the Yucatan Peninsula.

6 AM, April 18th I woke up, contemplating a long day of cycling. Those birds had flown all night, now they were contemplating a long day of flying.

7:05 AM, We cycled off, 82 miles of road ahead of us. That’s a long ways. Those birds still had hundreds of miles to go.

Mid Moring, It started to rain. We had a headwind. Luckily for those birds, the rain hugged the coast- so that last difficulty wasn’t a factor- yet.

3:30 PM, The road parelled the sea. We were getting tired. Suddenly I spotted a tiny songbird fluttering across the road. But as we cycled on I noticed more and more. Indigo Buntings, Orchard Orioles, unidentified flashes of yellow...

4:30 PM, We arrived, exhausted at Peveto Woods Sanctuary. We were hungry. Ken and Wendy had a beer. But I was more hungry for birding than for food. I snuck through the woods. Exhausted birds were everywhere, a Blackburnian Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Scarlet Tanagers... they feasted on bugs, and I soaked in the incredible scene.

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4 comments:

Stephanie said...

I just read in the Audubon Spring issue about your traveling adventure. Great story and photos.
I like your blog and website.
Have a great journey and lots of luck raising the money.
Cheers, Stephanie

April 21, 2008 at 5:21 PM
Matt! Brooks said...

500! Woohoo! Great job, Malkolm! I knew you could hit the magic number, and with a few more weeks to go! Best of luck with the Texas specialties. I'll be keeping track.

-Matt! Brooks
Tucson

April 22, 2008 at 8:53 AM
Bird Year said...

Thanks! We're now in High Island, awaiting the promised migration... We appreciate all your comments! Thanks, Malkolm

April 22, 2008 at 9:21 AM
Unknown said...

Go Malkolm!!

Congratulations to team Bird Year on reaching the fantastic milestone of 500 species. Yukoners are very proud of you. Keep pedaling and eating all the way to your next great bird!

April 23, 2008 at 3:39 PM

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