Behind the Scenes of the Great Bear RAVE

This month, the iLCP, a group of internationally renowned photographers are taking part in a RAVE (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition) in British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest. Home to white spirit bears, ancient forests, and stunning marine biodiversity, it is one of the planet's most priceless treasures, but overseas oil interests wanting access to western Canada's tar sands, the second largest known oil reserves in the world, have put the region in threat, prompting the action of conservation groups and the iLCP. Throughout the expedition we'll be bringing you profiles, stories, statistics and photos to learn more about the region and why it's so crucial that we all work to protect it. Please follow along here on the iLCP blog, on Facebook and Twitter.

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We've been posting a lot about our expedition in the Great Bear Rainforest — the people, the wildlife and our team of photographers who are trying to capture all of that.

But what goes on behind an expedition like this? How much food do you need to feed 14 hungry people on 6 different boats for 10 days in the rainforest? Here's a little peek into our 3-hour long shopping trip in Prince Rupert...

Now before any of you get all riled up, we are well aware of the fact that we consumed a lot of plastic bags during our shopping trip. And we are also well aware that plastic means petroleum, and it's therefore easy to ask the question, "if you're up there fighting against oil isn't it hypocritical to be filling your shopping carts with single-use plastics?"

The short answer is... While we were able to use cardboard boxes to transfer all of the groceries, we still did consume plastic bags for bulk foods, produce and things like milk jugs and yogurt. There is no easy answer. Unfortunately we live in a society where the infrastructure makes it very difficult to stock up for an expedition of this size and not consume any single-use plastic products. So we'll turn the question back to you: how do you limit your use of plastic, and even disposable goods, when prepping for a trip or an expedition? Post a comment and tell us all about it!

And how do you get the crew and all of this food and gear (1,900 pounds of it!) to the remote and wild North Coast of British Columbia? Hint: it involves planes, buses and ferries... And some heavy lifting!