Peter Long Bio

Peter Long
Email: pj*@*************ks.com

Living in the North, Peter enjoys the unique privilege of accessing wilderness trails right from his doorstep. Now retired, he takes full advantage of this by walking or hiking every day.

Inspired by Jane Jacobs’ idea that “more eyes on the street” create safer neighborhoods, Peter applied this philosophy to Whitehorse—a city embedded in wilderness. He founded WhitehorseWalks.com to advocate for improved walking infrastructure and encourage more residents to walk. He believes that promoting walking not only fosters greater appreciation for the wilderness but also helps identify and enhance quality trails, turning them into walking destinations.

Peter has a long history in publishing, starting with mainframe systems and evolving through desktop publishing to today’s internet. He’s been part of many local publishing projects focused on nature, maps, trails, and land use. Photography and plants are among his interests, and he enjoys weaving them into his work.

A long-time map enthusiast, Peter embraced the possibilities opened up by Google Earth. He overlays data such as Official Community Plan (OCP) information, zoning, planning documents, trails (Whitehorse boasts over 800 km of them), and other land-use resources to better understand the city. His guiding question remains: How does this initiative impact walkers? Does it make walking easier or harder?

Peter’s interest in HECM (Hiking, Environment, Community, and Mapping) stems from a broader vision: learning from what other parts of Canada have contributed to the National Hiking Trail—and exploring how the North can be a meaningful part of that effort.