|
Full
Site Search
To search the entire TransWorld Education Site for both
articles and college details please use the form below.
Warning: Results can be extensive.
|
British Columbia
Truly Diverse
Welcome to the Northern region of Super-Natural
British Columbia, Canada. British Columbia is world-famous
for its beautiful cities, incredible scenery and warm, welcoming
people, and the Northern region is the place where you can
experience it all. Three distinct areas comprise this vast
region, the Central Interior Lakes and Rivers District, the
Peace River District, and the Northwest. So get ready for
the educational, cultural and recreational adventure of a
lifetime.
With literally thousands of lakes and rivers to cast your
fishing line into, or canoe, swim or water-ski in, the Central
Interior Lakes and Rivers District is appropriately named.
In the spring and summer, the lakes and rivers teem with a
wide variety of fish. In the late summer and fall, salmon
surge through the district's river systems as they head for
their traditional spawning grounds. From backyard porches
to man-made viewing platforms, you can view the many species
of animals and birds, large and small, that inhabit northern
British Columbia. The area offers numerous provincial and
private camping areas, recreation-based resorts and lodges
to suit every kind of outdoors taste. Here you can take advantage
of the many kilometers of high quality hiking and mountain-biking
trails, or spend quiet nights around the campfire.
But don't forget the winter sports. A ski hill is never far
away, no matter where you live in the North. There are excellent
facilities for downhill skiing all around the northern part
of the province; cross-country skiing on a bright sunny day
is a great way to keep warm and enjoy the beauty and quiet
of freshly fallen snow. And the best part is that cross-country
skiing can be done almost anywhere. Snowmobiling and ice fishing
are also popular pastimes during the winter months.
In the Central Interior, just a short one-hour plane trip
from Vancouver, you will discover not only pristine wilderness
and abundant wildlife, but also the modern growing city of
Prince George. Often called the Northern Capital of British
Columbia, Prince George is home to 75,000 people, and as the
fourth largest city in British Columbia, Prince George features
all the amenities that you would expect in a vibrant and expanding
city.
The city provides numerous indoor and outdoor recreational
opportunities to satisfy every desire. Located in the middle
of an endless spruce forest, the city boasts more than 120
parks. If the hiking, camping or water sports in this area
are not enough for you, then it is only a three and a half
hour drive to the entrance of two of Canada's most spectacular
national parks, Jasper and Banff. For a less strenuous outdoor
experience, try one of the four golf courses situated in the
Prince George city limits, or swim in the two public Aquatic
Centers. If shopping is your passion, you won't be disappointed
here - there are two large shopping malls, several strip malls
and plenty of specialty shops.
Prince George offers residents and visitors alike a rich
cultural environment. Theatre Northwest, a professional theatre
company, brings professional actors who perform Canadian and
international works. Theatre Workshop showcases the best of
local and regional amateur theatre in the newly renovated
Prince George Playhouse, and an active Symphony keeps local,
national and international musicians busy on the stages of
city venues. The Native Friendship Centre in the downtown
area houses the Native Art Gallery, where Native artisans
show and sell their work. There is no shortage of history
in Prince George either: you can learn about the area at the
Fraser-Fort George Regional Museum, or at the Railway and
Forestry Museum.
At the end of a busy day or week, you can treat yourself
to dinner out and experience the multicultural atmosphere
of the city at the same time. You can taste foods from around
the world in the over 100 restaurants the city has to offer.
The downtown nightclub scene provides an equally diverse range
of entertainment from current pop, country and rock groups
to folk music.
It is not surprising that a city with so much to offer is
also home to two excellent educational facilities. Since 1969,
the College of New Caledonia has been providing outstanding
post-secondary education in a wide range of subject areas
to residents of northern British Columbia and beyond. A highly
experienced and dedicated teaching staff offers each student
the personal attention that is so important for success. CNC
is a comprehensive community college that grants diplomas
and certificates in Business, Health Sciences, Trades and
Technologies, as well as two years of university transfer
programmes. Among its many excellent courses is English as
a Second Language, as students from all around the world study
together in small classes. It is not unusual to share a classroom
with students from as many as twelve different countries.
The highly trained and qualified ESL teachers are experts
in helping you improve your English skills and move on to
other college or university programs.
The University of Northern British Columbia is one of Canada's
newest universities, and currently has about 3,200 students.
UNBC offers about forty degree programs at both undergraduate
and graduate level in the arts, sciences and professional
programs. The award-winning Prince George campus is a showpiece
for the use of wood in construction, and the campus also provides
great views of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. UNBC's
professors are among the best in Canada, and class sizes are
the smallest among all universities in British Columbia. UNBC
is a research-intensive university, and many students have
the opportunity to participate in research on important social,
economic and environmental themes.
If you travel north from Prince George, you will enter the
Peace River district. The topography varies immensely in this
region, from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the Interior
Plains in the eastern sections. This is an area of big skies,
wild valleys, mountains and rivers, as the Northern Rockies
host an immense variety of wildlife, leading some naturalists
to call it the 'Serengeti of the North'. The towns of Fort
St. John, Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, Tumbler Ridge, Mackenzie
and Fort Nelson dot the huge land mass, including a new Environmental
Planning degree specializing in Energy Development that is
unique in Canada. Education is an important component of life
in this area, with Northern Lights College and UNBC providing
a wide range of educational opportunities. Northern Lights
College has a great deal of experience in providing international
students with high quality programmes.
West of Prince George you will travel to the Northwest region,
which has been the homeland since time immemorial of the North
Coast First Nations People. You can make your way along the
highway from the towns of Houston and Smithers to Hazelton,
where you can visit the historic K'san Native Museum and pass
by the majestic Seven Sisters Mountain. The highway then winds
its way along the Skeena River to the town of Terrace, British
Columbia, home to Northwest Community College, servicing the
diverse educational needs of the residents of this area. You
will finally end up at the port city of Prince Rupert.
This is an area of stunning beauty, visited by more than
half a million tourists a year. The scenery they enjoy here
ranges from interior farming valleys to coastal fjords interspersed
with craggy mountains and lava flows. The outstanding recreational
opportunities in this area include fishing, whale-watching,
rock-climbing, skiing and much more. This area is also rich
in wildlife with some species, such as the Kermode bear, being
unique to it. The rivers in the area are some of the most
productive salmon streams in the world, and the coastal waters
yield halibut, octopus and shellfish from intertidal zones.
If a truly Canadian experience is what you want, there can
be no better place than Northern British Columbia. The area
offers a perfect blend of wilderness and small town or city
amenities. International students will find that Northerners
are eager to welcome them, and to share with them their unique
homeland and safe, friendly lifestyle.
Author
Mary Ann Tierney
International Education Coordinator
College of New Caledonia
|
