Environment

In their latest campaign thebigwild.org is posting a poster in seven Canadian cities, hoping to entice smartphone owners to scan the image and access one of their mobile-friendly petition pages.

The poster uses a QR code, or 2-D barcode. These codes--they look kind of like crossword puzzles, can be read by the cameras on smartphones. They can store text information, SMS messages or (as is the case with bigwilds' campaign) a URL for a website.

They're very popular in Japan (there's one on Big Mac wrappers that stores nutritional information). These codes have just started to show up in North America and were even on the New Product Gallery in the Rapid Media hosted Paddle Zone at this year’s Outdoor Retailer Summer Market show in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The petitions this campaign is supporting is to protect the Flathead River Valley and Restigouche Watershed. The above image is an example of what will appear on your smart phone if you were to scan one of these posters.

Keep an eye out for QR codes in the up coming editions of Canoeroots.