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Past stories Living off-the-grid New Brunswick's Saint John River Ontario's Bruce Trail Canadian Ski Marathon Elk Island National Park Rallying for rallysport Montreal - Circus city Beluga Bytes Dawson - a musical adventure Bald Eagle Confederation Trail Boning up on the badlands Ukkusiksalik National Park Geocaching Discover Cypress Hills Saint Joseph's Oratory A walk through Stanley Park Sudbury's science centre Acadia continues Toronto's underground world

Tracing a finger along a map of Canada unveils the rustic location of so many of the country's national parks, protecting isolated pockets of pristine nature that contrast so greatly with Canada's growing urbanization. But perhaps nowhere else is that contrast more evident than in Elk Island National Park, which sits only 45 kilometres away from Edmonton, Alberta.

City dwellers can escape the hustle and bustle of Alberta's capital and gaze up at stars that do not show themselves amongst the bright lights of the city. That contrast will become a permanent fixture in September when more than 300 kilometres of land in Elk Island National Park and the nearby Blackfoot Reserve will become the Beaver Hills Dark Sky Preserve to mark the 100 th anniversary of the park.

Star-gazers often flock to the area with their telescopes to take advantage of the lack of artificial light so close to the city. In 2005, a public astronomy program was launched to teach visitors to the park about the stars and also about light pollution, an issue that is getting more attention as Canada's sprawling cities make it increasingly more difficult to escape the bright lights of the city for a darkened getaway.

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