The MD of Foothills is ready to educate residents on how to coexist with wildlife after a number of recent sightings.

A bear spray and wildlife mitigation workshop is taking place in Priddis on Thursday night where there will also be a Q and A and bear spray available for purchase.

Suzanne Oel, councillor with the MD of Foothills and workshop organizer, says the workshop will have two components.

"We're going to have bear spray training as our first interaction with our attendees and our second part is to have an information and learning session about various types of wildlife and we're calling it a wildlife mitigation workshop at that point so we're going to be including multiple species of wildlife in our area."

Different species that will be covered include bears, cougars, coyotes, wolves, elk, deer, wild horses, skunks, rats, etc.

How to reduce conflict and encounters, what to do if an encounter takes place, as well as coexisting and mitigation will all be covered.

Oel says the event isn't exclusive to those living in the MD.

"We're hosting it for MD of Foothills residents but I've had interest from other folks so it is open because we also have our guests from Alberta Environment and Parks and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry as well as our own Ag Services so there is going to be a variety of people attending."

An RSVP is required for the event. To do so, call Oel at (403) 931-2711 or email so@suzanneoel.com.

The workshop takes place Thurs. Oct. 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the Priddis Community Hall.

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