The Backroads Bill Podcast

At just 22 years old, Mylène started Follow Her North, a guiding company that’s turning Northern Ontario into a place where people come for adventure and stay for connection. She leads everything from snowshoe hikes to getting you the right supplies for your adventure, helping people slow down and reconnect with the land. 

In this episode, she shares how she turned her love for the outdoors into a business, what it's like being a young woman in the guiding world, and why she believes nature is the best place to reset.

  
05:20 - Guiding as a calling and career  
12:10 - The power of unplugging and getting outside  
18:45 - Campfires, food, and creating simple moments  
26:00 - Starting a business rooted in nature  
33:30 - Looking ahead at what's next

100 episodes of the Backroads Bill Podcast has seen Bill and Ben talk to a number of high profile and educated guests focused on the outdoors, nature and Northern Ontario.

For episode 100 Bill talks about the Canadian Ecology Center. How it started and how it turned into the hub for education and outdoor events that it is today.

Bill also looks to the future following the devastating downburst earlier this summer and how the Canadian Ecology Center will come back stronger than ever!

In this episode of the Backroads Bill Podcast, bear and cougar specialist Rich Beausoleil from BearWise.org joins to talk about how to stay safe, smart, and respectful in bear country.

From backcountry safety to urban attractants, Rich breaks down what really brings bears too close to people — and what works best to keep them away. 

00:00 - Intro: What Is BearWise?  
06:15 - Why Bears Show Up Where You Live  
13:40 - Bear Spray vs. Guns: What Actually Works  
19:55 - Bird Feeders, Garbage & Campfire Mistakes  
26:30 - What to Do When You See a Bear  
34:00 - The Future of Bear-Human Coexistence

Author Claire Cameron has written about bear attacks, wilderness trauma, and the raw edges of motherhood — but in her latest work, the story turned inward.

After receiving a cancer diagnosis, Claire began writing not just about danger out there, but the uncertainty inside her own body.

In this episode of the Backroads Bill Podcast, Claire reflects on grief, nature, storytelling, and resilience — and how Algonquin Park, literary fiction, and a real-life bear attack all shaped her view of mortality and meaning.

00:00 - Intro: From Novels to Nature  
06:15 - The Real Bear Attack Behind “The Bear”  
12:30 - Facing Cancer and Writing Through It  
20:10 - Grief, Parenthood & the Wild Unknown  
27:45 - Why We Keep Going Back to Algonquin Park  
35:00 - What Survival Really Teaches Us

What does it take to inspire a generation? In this episode of the Backroads Bill Podcast, we sit down with legendary science communicator Franco Mariotti, one of the original minds behind Science North.


Franco shares how his passion for biology and the natural world helped shape the early days of the centre. From bringing in live beavers and flying squirrels, to building exhibits that changed how kids (and adults) understand science.

He shares personal stories of working with Jane Goodall, the evolution of IMAX, the rebirth of Sudbury’s landscape, and what it means to truly connect people with nature.

05:04 - How Science North Started — and Why It Was So Different  
11:15 - Ralph the Porcupine and a Life-Changing Moment  
15:05 - Jane Goodall Walks In Unexpectedly  
22:00 - The Beavers, the Boardwalk, and Connecting to Nature  
26:00 - Re-Greening Sudbury: A Global Success Story  
32:00 - Wolf Lake and the Fight to Protect It  
36:00 - The Role of Beavers in Ecosystems  
42:00 - Franco’s Love for the Arctic and Polar Expeditions  
50:00 - The Magic Tunnel: Why Science North Still Matters Today

This week's episode revisits a previous podcast where Bill and Ben talked with Denny Treu who's father Gaylord crashed his fighter jet during a training exercise in Northern Ontario during the Cold War.

Bill and friend of the show Brian Emblin where planning to take a Denny and his family up to the crash site so they could honour his father's memory with a plaque.

Unfortunately Denny unexpectedly passed away days before the trip. Bill and Brian talk about the trip up with a new plaque to honour both Denny and his father and to place it at the site of the crash.

Watch the first podcast episode here: https://www.northbayecho.ca/the-ghost-of-a-cold-war-crash-led-bill-to-an-unlikely-friend/

00:00 - A Somber Return to the Crash Site
06:00 - The Day the Jet Went Down
12:30 - Finding the Pilot’s Son After 65 Years
19:20 - Hiking Back In: The Plaque, the Weather & the Promise
25:00 - A Prayer in the Forest & a Final Tribute
32:00 - Legacy, Meaning & What Comes Next

In this week's episode of the Backroads Bill Podcast, endurance paddlers Sean Lougheed and Lauren Anderson take us deep inside the preperation for the upcoming Yukon 1000, the longest canoe race on Earth — from Whitehorse to the Arctic Circle. 

For roughly 10 days, they will paddle 18 hours a day, braving storms, sleep deprivation, and total isolation with only a GPS and each other to rely on.

The toughest part? Getting accepted into the race in the first place. 

Follow their journey starting July 10th here: https://www.yukon1000.org/


02:15 - Meet Sean & Lauren
06:30 - What Is the Yukon 1000? Rules, Risk & Insanity  
11:50 - Training for the Pain Cave: How They Prepped  
17:25 - The Emotional Highs (and Hallucinations) of Day 4  
22:10 - Mosquitoes, Muscle Fatigue & 4 Hours of Sleep a Night  
27:45 - Navigating the Braided River Without Getting Lost  
32:20 - Food Strategy: 7,000 Calories a Day  
36:05 - No Phones, No People: What Silence Teaches You  
40:40 - Crossing the Arctic Circle: The Final Push

This week journalist and author Peter Annin joins Bill and Ben to explore the geopolitics, climate threats, and cross-border tensions surrounding the Great Lakes Water Basin.

From the shocking history of water diversions to modern battles over access, privatization, and climate migration, this episode reveals why the next great resource war may not be over oil — but over water.

Annin, author of The Great Lakes Water Wars, explains why this region could become a global flashpoint — and what’s being done to protect it.

00:00 - Intro
02:10 - Meet Peter Annin: Author, Journalist, Water Advocate  
06:40 - What Makes the Great Lakes So Unique (and So Vulnerable)  
10:55 - The Great Lakes Compact: A Deal That Changed Everything  
15:30 - Climate Change, Drought & U.S. Cities Looking North  
19:45 - The Chicago Diversion: Legal or Loophole?  
24:20 - Can the Great Lakes Be Bought, Sold, or Traded?  
28:50 - Why Canada Needs to Watch These Borderline Water Politics  
33:15 - The Role of Indigenous Communities in Water Protection  
36:40 - A Future of Climate Migration: Will People Come for the Lakes?  
40:55 - Final Thoughts

What if your career could offer purpose, adventure, six months off a year — and a six-figure salary?

In this episode of the Backroads Bill Podcast, mining advocate Morgan Murphy breaks down the future of work in Ontario’s booming mining industry.

From underground tours to video campaigns and real talk with youth, she’s on a mission to shift the story — and show that mining is more than just rocks.

We cover everything from career paths and skilled trades, to women in mining, Indigenous partnerships, environmental impact, and why Gen Z is key to the industry's future.

00:00 - Intro
02:05 - Meet Morgan Murphy: Advocate, Storyteller & Tour Leader  
06:30 - Toronto to Timmins
10:15 - What Youth Don’t Know About Their Phones & the Earth  
14:20 - Skilled Trades vs. University
17:50 - Earning While Learning: Apprenticeships & 6-Figure Jobs  
21:40 - What Modern Mine Sites Really Look Like  
25:30 - Environmental Monitoring, Safety Culture & Tech Innovation  
29:00 - Mining and Mental Health
32:15 - Indigenous Partnerships
36:00 - Women in Mining
39:30 - Future Pathways
43:00 - Final Thoughts

In this special Kindness Week episode of Backroads Bill, we sit down with Peggy Walsh Craig and Cindy Lalande from Trees for Nipissing, a grassroots group that’s transforming the urban landscape — one tree at a time.

They’re not just planting greenery. They’re pushing for policy change, promoting environmental education, and inspiring residents to rethink the value of trees in a city without a tree bylaw.

Learn more about Trees for Nipissing at their website: https://trees4nipissing.org/

00:00 - Intro
02:05 - Meet Peggy & Cindy: The Roots of Trees for Nipissing  
06:30 - Why Trees Matter More Than You Think  
11:15 - North Bay Has No Tree Bylaw — Here’s Why That’s a Problem  
15:40 - School Plantings, Community Projects & Kindness in Action  
20:25 - The Power of Grassroots Movements in Small Cities  
24:50 - Volunteers, Grants & Making It All Happen  
29:30 - What They’ve Planted So Far (And What’s Next)  
33:45 - Advice for Other Towns: How to Start Planting Change  
37:10 - Outro